The mayor of Brampton wants the mayors of Canada’s largest cities to help fund the legal fight against Bill 21, Quebec’s secularism law.
On Wednesday, Mayor Patrick Brown said he would send letters to the mayors of the nation’s 100 most populous cities, and follow up with phone calls, urging them to join his opposition to the provincial law, which prohibits public officials, including teachers, wear religious clothing. symbols at work in Quebec.
The province’s secularism law, passed in 2019, was back in the spotlight this month, after the Western Quebec School Board was forced to move a Muslim teacher, who wears a hijab, out of her classroom. of classes according to provincial law.
“If this goes to the Supreme Court and religious freedom is diminished, and you can fire someone for wearing a turban, a hijab or a cross, it will be an incredible diminution of a fundamental principle of this country,” Brown said. during a special city council meeting on Wednesday. “This affects our municipal interest and affects our city where we are proud to be a mosaic.”
The Council voted unanimously to donate up to $ 100,000 to the legal fight, led by groups like the Sikh World Organization, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Brown said he has been told the fight will likely go to the Supreme Court. He said the groups have raised $ 1.1 million so far, but that case could cost around $ 3 million.
“Our hope is to level the playing field,” Brown said in an interview. “It’s not a fair fight, when you have racialized communities raising community funds to defend the charter while you have the Quebec government with unlimited legal resources …
“If the government of Canada is not going to stand up to Bill 21, then I think big cities in Canada can rise to the occasion.”
Despite criticism from parliamentarians of different political persuasions, federal leaders for the most part have stayed away from getting into the legal and public relations battle against Bill 21. The Quebec government invoked the clause that rarely it is still used to push the law in 2019, to protect you from claims. that violated religious rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Brampton was the first to pass a motion to condemn Bill 21 in 2019, which encouraged many other cities and provinces to follow suit, said Mustafa Farooq, executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims.
Farooq said the Muslim council “fully expected to take up the legal battle on our own … but we really appreciate those who are stepping up now and willing to support us on an ongoing basis.”
In its current round of legal challenges, Bill 21 is before the Quebec Court of Appeal.
In April, the Quebec Superior Court struck down a portion of Bill 21, exempting English school boards from the law. The province appeals the ruling. The court also found that the law violates the basic rights of religious minorities in the province, but that such violations are permissible because of the clause nonetheless.
Don Peat, spokesman for Toronto Mayor John Tory, said the mayor received Brown’s letter on Wednesday and “asked city staff to review it and determine how best the city could support the legal challenge.”
Peat said the city passed a motion in 2019 condemning the law.
In a delegation to the Brampton council on Wednesday, Sharanjeet Kaur, senior vice president of the Sikh World Organization, said all cities should be concerned about Bill 21.
“This is our opportunity as Canadians to take a firm stand against laws that create a space for intolerance,” said Kaur.
“Its residents, who once again feel marginalized and betrayed, need to see their respective leaders stand shoulder to shoulder with us, against the sentiments that are driving these laws and the broader impacts on society.”
Reference-www.thestar.com