Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, shown in Montreal on Friday, proposed a ban on students wearing ‘conspicuous religious symbols’ in the classroom during the recent election campaign.Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press
The Parti Québécois believes it has found a new threat to the secular nature of Quebec’s institutions: schoolchildren.
PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon proposed a ban on students wearing “conspicuous religious symbols” in the classroom during the recent election campaign. In the eyes of Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, who was sworn in as Premier last Wednesday, a Muslim girl wearing a headscarf, a Jewish boy with a kippah and a Sikh boy with a turban are threats to the secular character of their schools.
The PQ justifies the ban as a way to protect Quebec values. But in reality, it is the targeting of children for political gain.
Given the heavy influence of the Catholic Church over education, hospitals and other provincial institutions up until the 1960s and even beyond, Quebeckers are particularly sensitive to threats to secularism. This wariness is understandable given this backdrop, but the PQ is using this cultural history as an excuse.
A child in a classroom wearing religious garb isn’t pushing their beliefs on anyone. Laïcité – the separation of religion and the state – is being wielded with the same type of dogmatic zealotry that it was supposed to replace.
The previous Coalition Avenir Québec government used secularism as a justification to ban government workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols. 2019’s Bill 21, An Act respecting the laicity of the State, prevents teachers, judges and police officers from wearing items such as turbans, hijabs and crucifixes. Knowing the law was a clear violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the CAQ used the notwithstanding clause to shield it from court challenges.
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Bill 21 needlessly targets religious minorities, and it has become a slippery slope. Subsequent legislation banned all school staff, including janitors and cafeteria workers, from wearing religious symbols. Even parent volunteers are included. Yet another law followed banning daycare workers from wearing religious symbols and eliminating prayer spaces at public universities.
For the people affected by the bans, this isn’t an abstract debate. People have lost their careers and their income, with Muslim women frequently affected.
As bad as the situation is for adults, extending it to schoolchildren, who are in no way agents of the state, takes things to a different level.
Some children might be kept at home by their parents. In that case, what would happen? Would the Quebec government simply allow those children to skip school indefinitely? Or would they somehow force those children, stripped of religious garb, to attend class? The answers aren’t clear.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon should walk away from this proposal. Given he is leading a minority government, he needs the support of another party to get legislation through the National Assembly. All parties should clearly state that they won’t support extending the symbols ban to children.
The issue of secularism is set to heat up further in Quebec, with a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling on Bill 21 and the use of the notwithstanding clause expected later this fall. If the law is struck down, it could cause a crisis.
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Many Quebeckers could view it as an oppressive federal decision that threatens their autonomy and culture. It would be a gift to the PQ as it attempts to hold an independence referendum, says Western University history professor Jeffery Vacante.
Muslim groups have spoken out against the proposed ban. Other religious groups and civil society organizations should also make it clear that targeting children for their religious beliefs is unacceptable.
Unfortunately, escalating intolerance has become the norm inside the PQ in recent years. When Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon launched his PQ leadership campaign in 2016, he criticized the party’s proposed Charter of Quebec Values, which aimed to prohibit public servants from wearing religious symbols, saying that the PQ should apologize for its actions and become a party for all Quebeckers, regardless of their mother tongue or religion. He would be wise to reflect on the wisdom of his own words.
Quebec’s culture and language are important, and measures need to be taken to ensure they stay strong. But the PQ doesn’t need to do so by repressing cultures and religions that are part of the province’s fabric. And especially not by targeting schoolchildren.