Supreme Court of Canada will hear legal challenge on Quebec secularism law
Quebec says it will defend the law 'until the end'
The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a court challenge against Quebec's controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21.
The request for leave to appeal was granted on Thursday morning without any explanation, as is the court's custom.
Among other things, Bill 21 prohibits certain public workers in positions of authority, such as judges, police officers, prison guards and teachers, from wearing religious symbols while performing their duties.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec's justice minister, and Jean-François Roberge, the minister responsible for secularism, issued a joint statement saying Quebec would defend the law "until the end."
"It is primordial, even vital, for Quebec to be able to make its own choices, choices that correspond to our history, to our distinct social values and the aspirations of our nation," the statement said.
The federal government has said it would intervene in the case and make arguments against Bill 21 in front of the Supreme Court.
Jolin-Barette and Roberge said Thursday that any federal intervention would be disrespectful and an affront to Quebec's autonomy.
Quebec's National Assembly passed the secularism bill into law on June 16, 2019, during the first mandate of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government. To protect the law from the courts, Quebec legislators invoked the Constitution's notwithstanding clause, a provision that must be renewed every five years. It was last renewed in 2024.
The law has been challenged nonetheless, first in the Quebec Superior Court and then in the Quebec Court of Appeal. But, the challengers have yet to succeed.
At most, the two courts ruled that the ban on wearing religious symbols could not be applied to members of the National Assembly.
The Quebec Superior Court sided with the English-language school boards, which argued that the act infringed on their linguistic rights. The Court of Appeal overturned this decision in February 2024.
The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is among the parties that have requested the Supreme Court address this issue. On Wednesday, the EMSB said it would not comment on the issue until the Supreme Court gives its decision.
Several other groups and individuals had also asked the Supreme Court to intervene, including the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), a federation of teachers' unions, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).
The involvement of the CCLA led Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal to recuse himself, as he was president of the association when it filed a challenge to the State Secularism Act before Superior Court in June 2019. Jamal was nominated to the Supreme Court of Canada in 2021.
The Legault government remains steadfast in defending the law as written five years ago and has the support of groups such as the Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ), a provincial secularism group.
Parties challenging the law celebrated the Supreme Court's decision.
Bouchera Chelbi, a teacher in Montreal who wears a hijab and is a plaintiff in one of the legal challenges against the law, said she gained a bit of hope when she heard the Supreme Court would hear arguments against the law.
"It only proves that debating Bill 21 is important not only to religious minorities but the public in general," she said. "It gives me more hope to think about my freedom to get a promotion, for example … I'm really relieved and I'm really excited."
Joe Ortona, the chair of the EMSB, said in an interview that the Supreme Court's decision to hear the appeal signals that there is "at least merit to our constitutional arguments."
"The law runs contrary to our values as a society," he said. "It's contrary to the Quebec and Canadian charters. And our hope is that the courts will recognize that and ultimately strike down the law."
Both the Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF) and the World Sikh Organization (WSO) of Canada issued statements welcoming the decision.
"While recognizing that the path ahead is still long and challenging," the CMF's statement said, "this decision offers a glimmer of hope for those who have been enduring the painful impacts of the law.
The WSO highlighted the involvement of Amrit Kaur, a practising Sikh educator who wears a turban. The WSO and Kaur, who left Quebec to pursue her profession, are among those appealing the law.
"The stakes could not be higher," WSO President Danish Singh said in a statement, "and the outcome of this case will have profound implications for the future of human rights and freedoms in Canada."
The FAE, a union that represents about 66,000 teachers, said in a statement that it was satisfied that the court was hearing the appeal. The union said it supports secular schools, but opposes the part of the law that bars hiring or promoting teachers who wear religious symbols.
The Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada, Raymond Théberge, also came out in support of the court's decision, arguing that it affects Quebec's English-speaking minority's right to manage and control their facilities and instruction.
"I'm pleased to hear that the Supreme Court of Canada is granting the applications for leave to appeal regarding the Act respecting the laicity of the State from several parties," he said. "This bill has undeniable effects on minority schools in Quebec."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Isaac Olson and Radio-Canada