Quebec’s Parti Québécois is proposing to extend the province’s secularism rules to primary school pupils, setting up a debate over religious expression in schools as the party pursues a campaign pledge.
In a Sept. 27 statement, the party said its plan would cover religious clothing or symbols that immediately identify a pupil’s religious affiliation. It said the measure would defend secularism and pupils’ freedom of conscience, and cited concerns about religious influence in schools and events at Bedford school. The statement did not specify enforcement, exceptions or an implementation date.
Education Minister Joël Arseneau called the pledge “non-negotiable” on Wednesday, Oct. 28, The Canadian Press and Le Journal de Québec reported.
Existing provincial rules restrict religious symbols for some public employees, including public elementary and secondary school teachers. A separate rule in the province’s Education Act requires students’ faces to be uncovered on school premises and during school-related services, with exceptions for health, disability and task-related reasons.
The Quebec English School Boards Association urged Quebec to withdraw the plan. A coalition of civil-liberties and community groups said it could stigmatize and exclude religious minorities, particularly Muslim girls. Stephen Brown, president of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, told The Canadian Press the plan would infringe children’s rights to spirituality and schooling.
In a 2006 case, the Supreme Court of Canada sided with a Sikh pupil who challenged his school board’s ban on wearing a kirpan, finding the restriction unjustified under his religious-freedom rights. That judgment resolved only the student’s dispute with the board; it left the legality of a provincewide rule unsettled.
The Parti Québécois won 60 seats in Quebec’s Oct. 5 election but did not secure a majority, according to Élections Québec. The National Assembly is scheduled to resume sitting Nov. 17. The Canadian Press reported that the government had not said when it planned to introduce a bill.
