Bill 21, which invokes the notwithstanding clause of both the Québec Charter (section 53) and the Canadian Charter (section 33), was enacted to “enshrine” the “paramountcy of State laicity [in] Québec’s legal order” and prohibits a number of professionals in the public sector from wearing religious symbols – including lawyers who work for, or are under contract with, the provincial government.

This law’s “enshrinement” of state laicity has led to the amendment of other statutes such as the Québec Charter, and has spurred subsequent legislation—both enacted (Bill 94) and proposed (Bill 9)—which rely on this principle to impose further restrictions on religious expression in the province.

Together, these laws demonstrate that laïcité is not contrived merely as an internal government policy, or as a means of implementing the duty of religious neutrality, but to establish a markedly different doctrine for Québec society as a whole, one that effectively imposes irreligion on private citizens, not neutrality on the state and its institutions.

Unlike state neutrality which limits the government’s authority to protect citizens’ rights, Bill 21’s laicity inverts the State’s duty of neutrality by requiring private citizens to abstain from religious expression. In fact, the Québec Court of Appeal found that Bill 21 moves Québec away from religious neutrality, towards laicity (at para 97).

The doctrine of laïcité can now expressly limit the scope and exercise of all rights and freedoms under s. 9.1 of the Québec Charter — not just for government workers, but all private citizens, and not just in their interactions with the State, but with other citizens.

We further see that Québec’s prayer ban (Bill 94, An Act respecting the reinforcement of laicity in Québec) restricts students — not government workers — from praying or engaging in religious activities within public schools.

Now, Québec’s Bill 9 proposes (among other restrictions) to generally ban “all religious practice” in certain public institutions like colleges and universities, and to prohibit “collective religious practice” within any public parks or on public sidewalks and footpaths without prior municipal authorization, which will only be granted “exceptionally and on a case-by-case basis”.

These laws bring into even sharper focus what was already clear at Bill 21’s first reading: the doctrine of laïcité promotes an irreligious doctrine throughout Québec society.

CLF (ACD) was granted leave to intervene in litigation challenging the province’s “prayer ban” directive. That directive (now codified in Bill 94), issued by the Québec Minister of Education, prohibits the use of any space in public schools for religious practices, including “overt prayers”. Read more below:

• 27 July 2023 - Defending Students’ Right to Pray

• 8 May 2023 - Quebec Bans Student-Initiated “Religious Practices” Such As “Overt Prayers” in Public Schools

The hearing of this matter has been paused pending the outcome of the Bill 21 appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada.