On expected lines, the Coalition government of the Quebec state of Canada has passed the Bill 21 -An Act respecting the laicity of the State banning the wearing of religious symbols by government employees, with a 73-35 vote. Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and others who wear head coverings as part of their religious or cultural practice have been jolted though they had been attempting over the months to fight this retrograde and unfair step. WSO has sharply reacted condemning the move of Quebec as Sikhs in government will have to give up the turban or give up their jobs.

IN a rare late-night vote, the Bill 21 was passed on Sunday after the Government of Quebec invoked closure to prematurely end debate.  In a far-reaching development, the Government of Quebec has also invoked the notwithstanding clause, allowing it to override freedom of religion protections enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights & Freedoms.

Bill 21 championed by Premier François Legault does not stop at disallowing Quebec residents from wearing headgear. The Bill also disallows those wearing headgear to use any government service, effectively meaning that Sikhs wearing turbans and Muslim women wearing hijabs and Jews wearing Yamulkes -skull caps, will not be allowed to use public transport.

“This is a very sad day for the people of Quebec and all of Canada.  Quebec is the first jurisdiction in North America to impose a religious dress code.  The message the CAQ Government has sent to the world this weekend is that Quebec has shut its doors to diversity and inclusion and that it will not adhere to basic international human rights norms.”

Mukhbir Singh, President, World Sikh Organization

“It’s not a small thing. It’s a big decision. But sometimes, in order to protect collective rights, we have to use it. I think we have to protect our collective identity,” Legault said, pointing out the clause has been invoked numerous times by different premiers. To separate religion and politics is important in Quebec,” said Premier François Legault, while spelling out the rationale for the Act.

Denouncing the bill, Columnist Hemant Mehta says, “It’s a move that trounces on religious freedom in the name of religious neutrality and creates far more problems than it solves.”

Not only this, to make matters worse, Closure was also used on Saturday to pass Bill 9, a controversial law throwing out 18,000 pending immigration applications to Quebec.  Bill 9 includes the framework for a Quebec values test that would-be immigrants need to pass in order to become permanent residents.

“It’s a move that trounces on religious freedom in the name of religious neutrality and creates far more problems than it solves.”

Columnist Hemant Mehta

Bill 21 restricts the wearing of ‘religious symbols’ by public servants in positions of authority such as police officers, judges, prosecutors and also school teachers and principals

Adding more bite to the working of the Act that was passed, a last-minute amendment was introduced by the Quebec government that makes provision for “inspectors”  who will supervise compliance with the secularism law and impose corrective measures- the targeted employees can be subject to disciplinary measures for failing to comply.

To separate religion and politics is important in Quebec.”

François Legault, Premier, Quebec National Assembly

The World Sikh Organization of Canada believes that “Despite the amendment, according to experts, the bill’s vague definition of religious symbol as “clothing, symbol, jewelry, ornament, accessory or headgear that is worn in connection with a religious conviction or belief and can reasonably be considered as referring to a religious affiliation” makes the Bill difficult if not impossible to enforce.”

There are approximately 15,000 Sikhs in Quebec who will be disproportionately impacted by the ban on religious clothing and symbols.  Practising Sikhs, both men and women, wear the Sikh articles of faith such as the turban at all times as part of their daily lives as reminders of the principles of equality, service and spirituality.

In May, three UN legal experts joined sent a letter to the Canadian mission in Geneva which said that Bill 21 threatens freedoms protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is quite evident that it had no effect on the Quebec government which was hell-bent on pushing their partisan and non-inclusive agenda.

The WSO reacted sharply to this development and its President Mukhbir Singh said, “This is a very sad day for the people of Quebec and all of Canada.  Quebec is the first jurisdiction in North America to impose a religious dress code.  The message the CAQ Government has sent to the world this weekend is that Quebec has shut its doors to diversity and inclusion and that it will not adhere to basic international human rights norms.”

“Stripping members of minority communities of their rights is a shocking move that will have long term repercussions for Quebec and Canada.  Bill 21 was a solution to a problem that did not exist and pandered to the xenophobic tendencies of a section of the Quebec electorate,” he added.

Charting the next phase of their advocacy work, WSO said that it would continue to work with other community partners in Quebec to oppose this legislation.

“The fight against this secularism law will be a historic struggle that will have a permanent impact on human rights in Canada. We call on the people of Quebec to reject this discriminatory and divisive law,” said a distraught but committed Mukhbir Singh.

World Sikh News endorses the attempts of WSO and other civil liberties groups who will not take this lying down and contest it tooth and nail.