{"id":416559,"date":"2026-01-18T03:00:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/416559\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T03:00:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:00:08","slug":"theyre-destroying-peoples-lives-montrealers-raise-united-voice-against-bill-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/416559\/","title":{"rendered":"‘They’re destroying people’s lives’: Montrealers raise united voice against Bill 21"},"content":{"rendered":"

Montrealers gathered, braving cold weather and snow to denounce outgoing Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault and his controversial secularism law, Bill 21, on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Organizers of the Canadian Muslim Forum gathered in front of outgoing Legault\u2019s Montreal office, alongside community groups and concerned citizens. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt is heartbreaking. Numerous female employees across many sectors received letters from their administrators openly during and right away before Christmas to say you will be out if you don\u2019t remove the so-called religious symbols by January 5. Imagine families destroyed. I know many single mothers. Their survival is their checks, pay-to-pay,\u201d said Samer Majzoub, president of the Canadian Muslim Forum.<\/p>\n

They raised a united voice against what they\u2019re calling violations of the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms caused by Quebec\u2019s contentious secularism law, which prohibits sector workers in positions of authority from wearing visible religious symbols at work.<\/p>\n

\"\"Attendees of the peaceful assembly on Saturday Jan. 17, 2026, holding signs denouncing Legault\u2019s secularism law. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n

\u201cCanada is known for everybody can live the way that they want. They can dress whatever they want, they eat whatever they want, they believe whatever they want. So it\u2019s not there anymore. It\u2019s a real threat!\u201d said Hana Masuod, the president of the Together Protect Our Children Association.<\/p>\n

The law, known as Bill 21, has garnered public backlash and controversy since it was officially passed into law by Legault\u2019s Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec (CAQ) government back in 2019, with critics saying it violates the right to freedom of expression and religion, and is a cause for discrimination as it forces many to choose between their profession and their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWomen wearing a scarf working to provide for their children poses no harm for anyone. Especially these days, like with the increase of inexpensive lives, the struggling already, they\u2019re making it harder. Forcing women to choose between their identity and their jobs is unfair. Like, they\u2019re destroying people\u2019s lives by doing this,\u201d said Masuod.<\/p>\n

Majzoub added, \u201cHonestly, the only victims are women, girls and women, Quebecers, you know, using different excuses to just target those women. And I will tell you something very important just for you and everyone who is listening to know that\u00a0the government knows very well that they are violating the rights of women by using the notwithstanding clause.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Two women with signs calling for equality and diversity, a right they say should be protected by the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n

This comes just days after Legault\u2019s announcement on Wednesday that he was stepping down from his position as leader of the CAQ, and that he hopes the next election focuses on the major challenges facing Quebec rather than a simple desire for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have failures at every level. Okay, we have financial scandals. We have issues at our medical system, educational systems, streets, gangs, every aspect. And now, Monsieur Legault decided to quit or resign under the pressure of the fact that the latest sondage was receiving 7 to 10 percent support. That\u2019s it, that\u2019s all. And on top of this, we are rushing to create an identity crisis that doesn\u2019t exist,\u201d said Majzoub.<\/p>\n

As for Bill 21, judges from the Supreme Court of Canada are slated to hear arguments on the matter in March later this year \u2013 ahead of Quebec general elections in the fall of 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to tell people that don\u2019t be just silent because if you aren\u2019t part of the solution, you are part of the problem. You have to speak up and stand up for people\u2019s rights,\u201d said Masuod.<\/p>\n

Majzoub added, \u201cHand in hand for women\u2019s rights in Quebec!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Montrealers gathered, braving cold weather and snow to denounce outgoing Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault and his controversial secularism…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416560,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-416559","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-science"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416559"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416559\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416559"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416559"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}