Quebec removed a teacher from the class for her hijab. MPs are trying to walk a fine line in response

OTTAWA – A Quebec teacher wearing hijab has been removed from her job just 15 kilometers from Parliament Hill, bringing all the political tension over that province’s Bill 21 back to Hill.

When Fatemeh Anvari’s impeachment attracted national attention on Thursday, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra showed how politicians continue to fight a response to the law, which prohibits public officials in Quebec from wearing religious symbols at work.

Addressing the House of Commons, Alghabra was asked if the Anvari situation calls for a strong federal response.

Halfway up the stairs, he stopped as if about to reply. Then he raised his hands in half with a shrug and continued to climb.

Many say that the provisions of the law amount to outright discrimination, while the provincial government argues that it protects Quebec’s culture by stating that the province is a secular state.

For federal politicians, the law has been a political minefield since it was first promised in 2018.

Support for it within the province has left national party leaders balancing the need to avoid alienating potential voters with the unease the law has inspired outside of Quebec.

Last summer, a question during the federal leaders’ debate that referred to the law as discriminatory was widely criticized, prompting responses that ranged from labeling the question’s premise as incorrect or insulting to demands for an apology. The controversy even reinvigorated what had been a long overdue campaign for Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet.

Conservative leader Erin O’Toole tried again to walk the fine line Thursday, telling reporters that while she opposes the law, the decision to pass it was made by Quebec.

“I think we have to make sure that everyone is respectful and respected in these discussions about secularism,” O’Toole said.

For conservatives, who also position themselves as champions of religious freedom, the refusal to repudiate Bill 21 has been a source of internal tension that flared again on Thursday.

Just hours after O’Toole made his comments, one of his caucuses came out swinging.

“I cannot, in good conscience, keep silent about this anymore. This is an absolute disgrace. It is time for politicians to stand up for what is right, ”wrote Kyle Seeback (Dufferin – Caledon) on social media, with the public approval of a handful of other Conservative MPs.

“Bill 21 must be opposed. In the courts, in the House of Commons and on the streets.”

In the Quebec community of Chelsea, where Anvari works at an elementary school, parents and supporters who are furious at the decision to remove her from the classroom hung green ribbons and posters of support for her on the school fence.

The local news outlet LowDown reported that Anvari was removed from the classroom last week after being on the job since October, and had been reassigned to work on a literacy project on diversity and inclusion.

Anvari told LowDown that he expected people to speak up.

“Our director has been very supportive,” he said. “If people choose to speak out, it will be more effective if they speak about the law and those who agree with it.”

And it wasn’t just Conservative MPs who raised concerns Thursday.

Liberal MP Iqra Khalid (Mississauga-Erin Mills) said that while she is trying to understand the law in the context of Quebec history and culture, no one should be penalized for demonstrations of faith.

“Infringing the rights of Canadians is not the way to preserve this beautiful culture,” Khalid wrote on social media.

Liberal MP Alexandra Mendes (Brossard-Saint-Lambert) said she’s not sure what the federal government could do in practical terms, but that doesn’t mean the law can’t be criticized.

When Quebec faces a labor shortage, removing a teacher because she wears a hijab is illogical and egregious, Mendes said.

“We will just get more vocal about it, the more we see the real impacts in real life,” he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland said the government’s position on the law remains the same as it was during the election campaign, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested Ottawa could still try to intervene in an ongoing judicial challenge of the law.