Andrew Brennan
Published Wednesday, December 15, 2021
MONTREAL -- Teachers gathered in downtown Montreal Wednesday demanding an overhaul to Quebec’s controversial Bill 21 after a teacher in Chelsea, Que. was removed from her classroom for wearing a hijab.
Bill 21, also commonly referred to as Quebec’s secularism law, bans some public servants deemed to be in positions of authority -- such as teachers, judges and police officers -- from wearing religious symbols on the job.
Passed in 2019, national debate has exploded again after Fatemeh Anvari, a Grade 3 teacher at Chelsea Elementary School, was told she could no longer continue in her role on Dec. 3 because her of her hijab.
Speakers at the gathering called on Quebec Premier Francois Legault, whose party enacted the bill, to look at the law through the lens of history.
“Fatima is not the first victim. Maybe hers is the first face that we see so clearly, but as indeviduals, there are many victims (of the law),” said Ehab Latoyef of Non a la Loi 21. “There were so many people who could not get a job, or had to leave the province.”
“There are those who had to choose between their livelihood and their (religious) beliefs,” he added.
It came a day after protestors gathered in Anvari’s hometown of Chelsea, Que. to voice their outrage at the law.
“We’re here to represent Ms. Fatemeh and all the other people who wear hijabs,” says Zoe Neldrum, a student in the Grade 3 class Anvari used to teach, “because it’s wrong and unfair and we want her to be our teacher again because she’s one of the best teachers we ever had.”
“We just wanted to make sure that the Quebec government knows that they can’t get away with this in our community,” David Harris, an organizer of the protest, told CTV News Ottawa. “We see this as a Bill that clearly goes too far in the name of secularism.”
"When it comes to members of our community, we want to show that we stand up for them," Harris said.
‘NOT A RACIST SOCIETY’
“Quebec is not, big underline, is not a racist society,” said Canadian Muslim Forum (CMF) President Samer Majzoub in an interview with CTV News.
However, he continued, Bill 21 “is directly or indirectly approving discrimination, whether we like it or not.”
The CMF announced their formal opposition to the law on Wednesday, writing in a statement that the government ought to at least exclude the education sector from its jurisdiction.
“The education sector, which is an extremely important one, has been witnessing a severe need for qualified educational staff,” wrote the CMF.
Meanwhile, some federal lawmakers pushed for federal intervention in the provincial law.
Conservative Sen. Salma Ataullahjan released a statement calling Bill 21 "discriminatory and racist," and while the law is provincial, not federal, BC Conservative MP Mark Strahl said he thinks "some issues transcend jurisdiction."
"We can't let laws like that go unchallenged," he told reporters before heading into the Tories' national caucus meeting Wednesday, where he said the issue would be raised.
While Prime Minister Trudeau and Opposition Leader Erin O’Toole have both voiced their displeasure with the law, neither have made public any plans to challenge it.
In a recent interview with the prime minister on CTV’s Question Period, Trudeau didn’t mince words, calling Bill 21 outrightly “unjust.”
However, he said, “the best place to be fighting this as a first step is for Quebecers themselves to be challenging this unjust law in their courts that their provincial government put forward,” Trudeau said.
“We have taken (a) very clear stance that this bill is … wrong. We have also said we’re not putting aside the possibility of challenging it at the Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole has said that while he personally opposes the law, he believes it's one that Quebecers alone must deal with.
Hijab-wearing teacher who lost job due to Bill 21 was 'trying to make a statement': Quebec lawmakers
By Stephanie Taylor The Canadian Press
Posted December 15, 2021 8:52 pm
Protest held in Montreal in support of Quebec teacher reassigned over hijab
The Liberal government and Opposition Conservatives are facing calls from within to mount a more direct challenge to Quebec’s controversial secularism law after a teacher was removed from the classroom for wearing a hijab.
Federal parties and their MPs have spent the past week reacting to the law, known as Bill 21, which bans some public servants deemed to be in positions of authority — such as teachers, judges and police officers — from wearing religious symbols on the job.
The law was passed in 2019, but received renewed attention outside Quebec last week after news broke that Fatemeh Anvari, a Grade 3 teacher, was told she could no longer teach in a classroom because she wore a hijab.
READ MORE: Calgary looking at joining other cities’ support of legal challenge of Quebec’s Bill 21
One of the federal politicians calling for a more forceful condemnation of the law was Conservative MP Mark Strahl, a representative from British Columbia.
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole has said that while he personally opposes the law, he believes it’s one that Quebecers alone must deal with and that a government led by him would not intervene in any court challenge to it.
But Strahl said he thinks “some issues transcend jurisdiction.”
The MP said he thinks Conservatives should re-examine their stance, which he said is unclear, and be prepared to challenge the law in court.
“We can’t let laws like that go unchallenged,” he told reporters before heading into the Tories’ national caucus meeting Wednesday, where he said the issue would be raised.
“It’s a position that’s shared by many, many of my colleagues.”
Conservative Sen. Salma Ataullahjan released a statement calling Bill 21 “discriminatory and racist,” saying she cannot in good conscience remain silent while fellow Canadians are being blatantly targeted.
READ MORE: Prime Minister Trudeau not stepping into fight against Bill 21 — for now
In a subsequent interview, she said she felt compelled as a Muslim to speak out and believes there has been a lack of leadership all around on the issue.
“We can’t be selective about human rights,” she said.
Despite the wish from some to adopt a tougher stand, O’Toole and other members of his caucus left the meeting saying nothing had changed.
On his way out, O’Toole, speaking in French, reiterated his personal opposition to the law and said Conservatives must speak as a team on important issues.
As for the Liberals, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated Wednesday that he has not ruled out federal intervention “at an appropriate time” in a court challenge to the law. For now though, he suggested it’s best to let Quebecers themselves lead that fight.
“I think the one thing to remember in all this is that Quebecers believe in a free and open society. Quebecers believe in freedom of expression, Quebecers believe in the equality of men and women, Quebecers believe in freedom of religion, freedom of conscience,” he told a news conference.
“And right now, a whole bunch of Quebecers are asking themselves questions about how in a free society someone could lose her job because of her religion.”
During Wednesday’s question period, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet challenged Trudeau to put Quebec’s public opinion on the matter to the test in a referendum. Polls suggest the majority of Quebecers support the law.
The Bloc leader also blasted Trudeau for allowing United Nations Ambassador Bob Rae to call the law discriminatory, which Blanchet said amounted to Quebec-bashing.
On Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh shifted from his earlier stance to say he would support Ottawa stepping into a court challenge.
Liberal MP Salma Zahid, who wears a hijab, issued a statement this week saying it was time for Ottawa to join the legal challenge against the law mounted by the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
READ MORE: Quebec’s Bill 21 again faces questions amid outrage over London, Ont. vehicle attack
“This cannot be allowed to stand unchallenged,” she said.
“To date, the challenge has come from civil society. But as the party that brought the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to Canada, as a government that champions human rights around the world, we cannot allow the weight of this fight to be carried by civil society alone.”
Montreal Liberal MP Anthony Housefather alsosaid this week he wants a national debate on the use of and rules around the notwithstanding clause, which Quebec Premier Francois Legault pre-emptively invoked. The clause gives provincial legislatures and Parliament the ability to bring in legislation that overrides provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms for five years.
It’s a conversation others have suggested is long overdue, four decades after the clause was created as part of constitutional talks. Housefather said the discussion should include whether the clause can be invoked without an actual court challenge of the law in question, as Legault did when Bill 21 was passed.
Newly elected Ottawa Liberal MP Jenna Sudds had similar sentiments in a statement she issued on the secularism law. She called it “a manifestation of intolerant and xenophobic sentiments” that may need federal intervention.
“Canadian governments at all levels have an unwavering commitment to the principles of freedom of religion and expression,” she said. “We cannot in good conscience stand idly by and allow this bill to go unchallenged, for what we permit, we promote.”
— With files from Mia Rabson
Brampton calls on cities across Canada to 'join the fight' against Quebec's Bill 21
Local residents, organizations applaud action; Calgary's
mayor to bring urgent motion in support
When Quebec enacted Bill 21 in March 2019, Razia Hamidi had an unfortunate decision to make.
She could continue living in the province that had just made it illegal for people like her to work in the public sector, or she could leave.
Hamidi chose to leave and a year and a half ago, resettled in Brampton, Ont. with her family.
"The climate it's created in Quebec was really something I didn't want to live through anymore, being a woman who is visibly Muslim and wears the headscarf," Hamidi said. "I feel like [Bill 21] legitimizes a lot of Islamophobia that exists in Quebec."
On Wednesday, Hamidi was happy to learn that Brampton mayor Patrick Brown had issued an appeal to 100 Canadian mayors to "join the fight" against Quebec's Bill 21.
As part of a motion carried in a special council meeting at Brampton city hall, Brown invited mayors and councils from across the country to donate to legal funds fighting Bill 21 in courts.
"Gone are the days when we can turn a blind eye to an injustice we see across municipal, provincial, and even federal boundaries," Brown wrote in a letter. "Quebecers of all faiths are our brothers and sisters. They need our help."
Hamidi welcomed the mayor's motion, recalling participating in multiple Montreal organizations trying to create allyship and gather funding for the legal battle against the bill during her time in Quebec.
She says until now the burden for legal fees was on the backs of mosques, churches, synagogues, gurdwaras, and non-profit organizations like the National Council of Canadian Muslims, and the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
By late Wednesday afternoon, the motion had already won the support of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
In a tweet, Gondek said that she'd spoken to Brampton's mayor, agreed with his proposal and would bring an urgent motion to Calgary city council to "make a contribution for the legal challenge."
"We stand united in protecting racialized communities against discrimination," Gondek wrote.
Leaders will 'have to answer for which side of history they were on'
Bill 21 prohibits public workers in Quebec from wearing religious symbols, whether a headscarf, a turban, a kippah or a visible crucifix. The bill targets Muslims, Sikhs, Jews and Christians, many of whom wear religious symbols as an expression of their identity.
How many of our fathers and brothers were told to cut their hair and remove their turbans to gain employment? How can we possibly turn the clock back now?- WSO senior vice president Sharanjeet Kaur
Hamidi says the bill "was a big factor in finally deciding to move back to Ontario with my family, not wanting to live in a province where the government is actively creating this tiered system of citizenship based on your religious identity and expression."
"I think a lot of local and municipal leaders, especially I hope our federal leaders, are going to have to answer for which side of history they were on in this period of Canada," Hamidi said, noting the bill has been in effect for two years.
Last week, a teacher in Chelsea, Que., Fatemeh Anvari, was reassigned from her job as a teacher to a position outside the classroom because she wore a headscarf.
Shortly after, Quebec's premier Francois Legault said the teacher shouldn't have been hired in the first place. That prompted backlash from communities across the country.
'Racism is expensive'
In a public letter issued Wednesday, Brown said, "A contribution from 100 municipalities across Canada is a small price to pay versus the repetitional harm that Canada will suffer and the future financial compensation that may come about if we allow this to stand."
"Racism is expensive, doing the right thing is a good investment," he added.
NCCM's executive director Mustafa Farooq, who has long been involved in the fight against Bill 21, said Brown's motion Wednesday was "nothing short of historic," and that he hopes it will prompt other cities to step up.
"I think anybody that believes in civil liberties and in the basic dignity of human beings should oppose [Bill 21]," he said. "There are many, many Quebecers who stand in opposition to this bill and will continue to stand in opposition until it's struck down."
While Farooq spoke to city council at a special meeting on Wednesday, so did WSO senior vice president Sharanjeet Kaur, who noted that one of the organization's board members, Amrit Kaur, had to leave Quebec for British Columbia because she couldn't work as a teacher as someone who wore a turban.
"When our community first heard of this bill, our parents and our grandparents started to recall the trauma of what they faced when they first arrived in Canada," she told city council.
"How many of our fathers and brothers were told to cut their hair and remove their turbans to gain employment? How can we possibly turn the clock back now?"
At a special council meeting on Wednesday, Brown and city councillors unanimously passed the motion to support legal challenges against Bill 21 and provide a one-time contribution of $100,000 to joint legal challenges by NCCM, WSO, and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Kaur, a resident of Brampton, commended the city for being the first municipality in Canada to pass a motion against Bill 21, first back in 2019, and then again on Wednesday.
"Choosing between our faith and employment are not choices we should have ever had to make."
Calgary mayor hopes to join fight against controversial Quebec Bill 21
Bill 21 prohibits some public servants from wearing
religious symbols on the job
Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek wants to join other municipalities in supporting a legal challenge of a controversial Quebec law.
The law, known as Bill 21, prohibits some public servants including teachers and other government employees deemed to be in positions of authority, from wearing religious symbols on the job, including a headscarf, a turban, a kippah or a visible crucifix.
This comes after a Quebec teacher was forced from her job in the classroom for wearing a hijab.
"What Quebec is doing is absolutely unconscionable… we are issuing a challenge to other municipalities in this country, asking us to contribute towards the legal challenge to get rid of Bill 21," Gondek said.
"Sometimes there are things that are the last straw, and that teacher — who was let go for no reason other than wearing what they will call a religious symbol — that was the end of it," Gondek said.
Gondek says she spoke with Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown who issued the call. Brown says his city council is committing $100,000 to a legal challenge by the National Council of Canadian Muslims. She will be looking for Calgary to contribute the same amount.
In a public letter issued Wednesday, Brown asked mayors across Canada to donate to the fund.
"I don't need to tell you that Jewish women who wear wigs, Sikh men who wear turbans, Christians who wear a cross are all at risk of being victims of this un-Canadian legislation, which infringes on fundamental rights of Canadians by discriminating against their religious freedom," Brown wrote.
"Bill 21 is in stark conflict with everything we've been taught and everything we've taught our children about who we are as a country. It's a fact that even young children in the classroom are aware of."
Calgary city council will discuss the motion next week on whether Calgary should also contribute to the legal challenge.
Bill 21 was tabled in and adopted into law in 2019, the government of Premier François Legault used a parliamentary mechanism called closure to speed its passage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that he would not join the legal challenge against Bill 21.
Speaking to CBC Montreal on Monday Legault said the bill was voted on democratically and was supported by the majority of Quebecers.
"They can wear their religious sign on the street, at home, everywhere else," he said.
With files from Scott Dippel, Jade Markus, Peter Zimonjic
