The Legault government plans to renew despite the clause in Bill 21

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QUEBEC – The Legault government is looking to renew its use of a controversial clause in Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms to deny fundamental rights and shield the state secularism law, known as Bill 21, from legal challenges.

As the clause's five-year term expires, Jean-Francois Roberge, the minister responsible for secularism, on Wednesday formally announced the government's plan to draft new legislation that would update the clause's application, preventing a court from invalidating the elements. of the law.

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Robert presents the bill on Thursday. According to an official notice in the legislative body's docket, the bill should be titled “An act to enable the Parliament of Quebec to preserve the principle of parliamentary sovereignty with respect to the law relating to the simplicity of the state.”

On Wednesday, no one in the government would comment on the decision, Roberge ignored the questions of journalists. He will hold a press conference on Thursday.

When Bill 21 was passed, one of the most controversial parts of the law was the use of a constitutional clause to deny basic rights and prohibit the wearing of religious symbols by people in positions of authority such as judges, police officers and teachers. as a hijab, cross, turban or kippah during work.

When it was passed, Premier François Legault described the law as moderate and a reflection of the views of the majority of Quebecers. According to him, it is a compromise between extreme views in the debate on secularism that has been going on for years.

Legoul said it was appropriate to use the clause because Quebec's language and culture must be protected.

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But this clause can be used only in blocks of five years. This is the first time the Avenir Quebec coalition government has faced a renewal decision since it took office in 2018. The deadline for renewal is June 16.

Since it was elected after promising to be a nationalist government, the CAQ has used the clause twice in advance – once in bill 21 and again in May 2022 when it passed bill 96 revising the statute of the French language.

In both cases, the clause did not stop groups from challenging the laws in court.

The renewal process requires a vote on the bill in the legislature. On Wednesday, it became clear that the government has the support of the Quebec Party, which voted in favor of Bill 21 in 2019, and this time, Quebec Solier, who voted against the law, signed on.

QS House leader and secularist Alexandre Leduc explained the party's switch, saying that while he still opposes Bill 21, particularly its clauses on religious symbols, he does not support the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as it was adopted unilaterally with Ottawa. A Constitution that Quebec never signed.

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This also applies to multiculturalism, which QS does not believe in.

“We're not in favor of Bill 21 – we're against Bill 21,” Leduc said during question period. “This has been our position since the beginning and it is still the same now.

“Also, we don't like the federal statute. That doesn't mean we support the CAQ or that we're ready to sign a blank check for the bill that will be introduced tomorrow. We want (Bill 21) to be subject to the Quebec statute, which is subject to the scrutiny of our statute.

“This Quebec Charter is the cement of rights and freedoms in Quebec.”

PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon went the other way, saying Quebec has the right to make its own decisions on issues such as secularism. Thus, the clause is a legal instrument, he said.

“Our parliament is a parliament that speaks for Quebecers and their democratic choices,” he told reporters at a morning news conference. “If the choice is clear, then this clause allows Quebec to stand by that decision regardless of the Canadian legal framework.”

Liberals, however, maintained their staunch opposition to the law.

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“We will be consistent,” said Liberal MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet. “Everything we said about Bill 21 before, during and after the election remains the same. However, we do not support updating the clause.”

Reaction to the news was swift, with divided opinions from the 2019 debate re-emerging.

The pro-secular Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ) quickly endorsed the decision.

“MLQ's legal position remains unchanged,” he told X (formerly Twitter). “Bill 21 is valid because, in practice and in appearance, it prioritizes the state's obligation of religious neutrality to its representatives.”

But the Quebec Network of Community Groups, an umbrella group of English-speaking organizations, said it was “deeply disappointed” by the decision.

QCGN President Eva Ludwig said in a statement: “Bill 21 is a discriminatory law that undermines the freedom of conscience and religion of Quebecers.

“Citizens in a democratic state should have the opportunity to appeal to the court if their rights and freedoms are violated or denied. Calling the regardless clause will block this feature.”

The QCGN called on the federal government to do more to express its displeasure at “the continued practice of some provinces to use the clause in spite of this”.

The Quebec Party of Canada also expressed regret at the renewal of the clause.

“Bill 21 and its use of the clause in spite of it are an embarrassment to the values ​​that the vast majority of Quebecers hold,” said party board member Jonathan Sommer. “Quebecers care about the basic human rights enshrined in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.”

Party leader Colin Standish added: “A full repeal of Bill 21 is the only adequate response to this discriminatory and flawed definition of state secularism.”

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