Canada’s special envoy to combat anti-Semitism has harshly criticized Quebec’s law that prohibits teachers and some other public sector employees from wearing religious symbols at work as “discriminatory.”
Professor Irwin Cotler, who was appointed by the prime minister to fight anti-Semitism, condemned Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, saying it authorizes state interference in religion.
Church and state have traditionally been separate in Canada, ensuring that the government is neutral with regard to religions and cannot dictate whether and how people practice. Supporters of Bill 21 argue that the law guarantees the separation of the two, but Cotler disagrees.
“It does not separate religion from state so much, but rather authorizes state interference with religion,” he told The Canadian Press.
Cotler, a former Liberal MP who served as justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006, said he believes Bill 21 also violates Canadian and Quebec human rights laws.
“Bill 21 is a permanent violation of the ‘fundamental freedoms’ provisions of both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms,” Cotler said.
The secularism law sparked pre-holiday protests after Fatemeh Anvari, a third-grade teacher, was told that she could no longer teach in her Quebec classroom because she wears a hijab.
What people are reading
The protesters, including the parents of the children she taught, rallied in support of the teacher who was assigned other tasks at school.
The law prohibits some public officials in positions of authority, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols such as crosses, hijab, kippah, and turbans.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he disagrees with the law and has not ruled out intervening in a legal battle against it “at some point”.
Anti-Semitism envoy @IrwinCotler says #Qebec’s secularism law is discriminatory. #CDNPoli # Bill21
NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said he would support federal intervention in a court challenge, while conservative leader Erin O’Toole has said the issue is a Quebec issue.
The prime minister reappointed Cotler as Canada’s special envoy to preserve Holocaust memory and combat anti-Semitism last November.
The human rights attorney is charged with fighting anti-Semitism and discrimination in Canada and abroad and works with ministers to inform policy.
Cotler also criticized the decision to apply the clause notwithstanding to Bill 21, which allows exceptions to the Canadian and Quebec bills of rights in certain circumstances and protects the law from legal challenges on letter grounds for up to five years. The bill’s clause will expire in 2024.
“Discriminatory legislation is also compounded by the use of the clause however,” Cotler said. “As I said when he was Canada’s attorney general and attorney general, ‘we will never invoke this clause.’
Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This Canadian Press report was first published on January 4, 2022.
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com