{"id":455892,"date":"2026-02-05T17:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/455892\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T17:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T17:33:09","slug":"daycares-slam-quebecs-new-secularism-bill-say-it-will-have-direct-impact-on-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/455892\/","title":{"rendered":"Daycares slam Quebec\u2019s new secularism bill, say it will have direct impact on services"},"content":{"rendered":"

Groups representing publicly funded daycares and daycare workers in Quebec say the province\u2019s new expanded secularism law<\/a> would create numerous challenges for the daycare network and likely weaken services to young children.<\/p>\n

If passed, Bill 9 would prohibit workers in public daycares, known as CPEs, from wearing religious symbols while at work. It would also ban them from serving exclusively kosher or halal food.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concerned that the problem raised and the means adopted by Bill 9 are not in line with the challenges and emergencies identified on the ground in the early childhood sector,\u201d the association representing public daycares said Thursday in its memoir\u00a0to a National Assembly committee holding consultations<\/a> on the bill.<\/p>\n

Jean-Francois Roberge, Quebec\u2019s minister responsible for secularism, has justified the bill by saying religious neutrality of the state ensures equality for all.<\/p>\n

But the daycare group said the secularism law will exacerbate existing staffing shortages, add financial burdens and weaken trust between CPEs and some parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe bill does not improve either the quality of educational services offered or access to a healthy and safe learning environment,\u201d said the group, known as the Association qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise des centres de la petite enfance (AQCPE). The ACQCPE is set to testify before the committee later Thursday.<\/p>\n

\"AJean-Fran\u00e7ois Roberge, Quebec’s minister responsible for secularism, walks into consultations into his proposed extension of the secularism law, Bill 9. (Sylvain Roy Roussel\/CBC)Solving problem that doesn\u2019t exist<\/p>\n

Pascal Cot\u00e9, vice-president of the CSQ labour federation, which represents workers at CPEs, told CBC in an interview Wednesday the government has failed to provide a clear justification for the new bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no studies that show that wearing a religious symbol transmits any religion at all to a child,\u201d Cot\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

The AQCPE surveyed its members to see how many complaints they\u2019d received about staff attire. Out of 705 respondents, more than 90 per cent said they had never received a complaint.<\/p>\n

Among the few complaints received, the association said only about half were related to religious symbols.<\/p>\n

The other half related to other clothing or appearance concerns including dirty hair, clothing that is too low-cut, or an educator who refuses to dress up for Halloween.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis data demonstrates that, although the wearing of religious symbols is present in the network, it remains marginal and does not constitute a widespread problem or a source of recurring tensions for parents or educational teams,\u201d the AQCPE said.<\/p>\n

Report on secularism says hijabs not neutral<\/p>\n

Bill 9 is based largely on the recommendations of a government-commissioned report<\/a> released last August from a committee that studied secularism, led by lawyers Guillaume Rousseau and Christiane Pelchat.<\/p>\n

In that report, Pelchat and Rousseau said daycare staff wearing hijabs was not neutral.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt provokes reactions and induces behaviours in young children, especially little girls, which is not surprising given their great susceptibility, linked to their age,” Pelchat and Rousseau\u2019s report said.<\/p>\n

\"TwoLawyers Christiane Pelchat and Guillaume Rousseau, co-presidents of the Committee to Study Respect for the Principles of the State Secularism Act and Religious Influences, unveiled their report and recommendations in Quebec City on Aug. 26, 2025. (Francis Vachon\/La Presse canadienne)<\/p>\n

The AQCPE says Pelchat and Rousseau misunderstood what was going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey base this assertion on the testimony of six educators<\/a>, some of whom say that \u2018little girls dress up by wearing a headscarf,\u2019\u201d the AQCPE\u2019s memoir said.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearch in developmental psychology demonstrates that such mimicry should not be interpreted as an influence on identity or a risk to development,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather, it is a demonstration of \u2018symbolic play\u2019 \u2014 or pretend play \u2014 which is very important for a child’s development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staffing shortages<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest potential effect of Bill 9 on the daycare network would be to exacerbate an existing shortage of workers.<\/p>\n

The AQCPE says daycares already face a \u201csevere shortage\u201d of qualified staff. That means sometimes ideal ratios of staff to children aren\u2019t met, the number of available spaces is reduced, replacements aren\u2019t available, and shutdowns during summer and holiday periods become longer, the group said.<\/p>\n

It says reducing the pool of potential staff even further by introducing a new restriction won\u2019t help.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decline in qualified staff directly threatens educational quality throughout the network and risks worsening if Bill 9 reduces the number of future graduates eligible to work,\u201d the association said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Concern over acquired rights:\"\"<\/p>\n

Exemption in Quebec’s expanded religious symbols ban creates confusion, stokes concerns<\/p>\n

The law that bans religious symbols for all school staff \u2014 not just teachers \u2014 includes an exemption for people who are already employed. But it only applies to those hired or promoted before the law was tabled in March. Unions representing school support workers say it\u2019s causing all kinds of problems.<\/p>\n

Bill 9 includes an acquired rights clause, meaning daycare staff who wear religious symbols and were already in place when the law was introduced could keep their jobs.<\/p>\n

But if they moved to another daycare or tried to get another job, they could be denied.<\/p>\n

Cot\u00e9 said many of his members switch jobs for various reasons, and that the acquired rights clause wouldn\u2019t protect them, which could lead to further staff shortages.<\/p>\n

Dietary restrictions could be costly<\/p>\n

CPEs are also worried about the new provision<\/a> that prevents them serving exclusively a menu based on a religious precept or tradition, meaning they can\u2019t serve only halal or kosher food.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany child-care centres that purchase from suppliers offering only halal meat do so not out of religious choice, but because it’s the most economical and practical option,\u201d the AQCPE said.<\/p>\n

WATCH | Secularism bill worries institutions that serve kosher and halal menus:\"\"<\/p>\n

Outlawing exclusively kosher, halal menus at Quebec public institutions worries religious groups<\/p>\n

Bill 9, the CAQ government\u2019s latest strengthening of secularism laws, forbids public institutions from exclusively serving food offerings that adhere to religious precepts or traditions. Some say this could create complex issues for places like public daycares. <\/p>\n

\u201cComplying with this provision could therefore lead to additional costs,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

It said that means that some daycare centres would have less money to invest in other services, and that some might have to increase their deficits.<\/p>\n

The association is asking the government to clarify the rule and perhaps offer an exemption for CPEs that demonstrate they serve such menus for logistical or economic reasons and not on religious grounds.<\/p>\n

Parents with face coverings<\/p>\n

Another problem area identified by the AQCPE deals with Bill 9\u2019s requirement that anyone who receives services from a child-care provider must do so with their face uncovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have several questions regarding the application of this requirement, particularly for mothers whose religion requires them to cover their faces in public,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

The AQCPE says unlike in schools, parents of daycare-aged children have daily contact with staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery morning, the parent enters the building to accompany their child to their classroom. In the evening, they pick up their child and dress them in the changing rooms,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

The AQCPE said the law could mean that staff would be forced to deny some parents access to daycare buildings.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf educators are forced to engage in such practices, the relationship with parents could be severely damaged,\u201d the association said.<\/p>\n

More data needed<\/p>\n

Both the AQCPE and the CSQ are asking the government to go back to the drawing board and gather more data about the necessity of such a law and its potential consequences.<\/p>\n

\u201cPut on the brakes, take the time to get some better analysis of the numbers of workers that could be affected, how the services could be affected,\u201d Cot\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

He noted the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec\u00a0government never ran on a promise to ban daycare workers from wearing religious symbols.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what we’re asking is just abandon those laws, go to the election in October, and then we’ll see,\u201d Cot\u00e9\u00a0said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Groups representing publicly funded daycares and daycare workers in Quebec say the province\u2019s new expanded secularism law would…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-455892","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\/455892","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=455892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}