Here, as a reminder, are some key events related to state secularism that occurred in 2023, a prelude to the year 2024 which will likely be very rich in terms of the implementation of real secularism in Quebec and Canada.
Judicial institutions. We learned, in February 2023, that the Quebec Judicial Council had not “deemed it useful” to adapt its codes of ethics to meet the requirements of the Law on State Secularism (also called Law 21) . This decision is all the more surprising since in 2021 the Canadian Judicial Council, for its part, deemed it relevant to add an ethical principle by which judges are asked to avoid wearing visible badges expressing their support to certain causes. A principle that still does not exist in Quebec’s codes of ethics.
Droits collectives Québec therefore filed an extraordinary legal appeal to force the Council to review its decision. However, the latter opposes the use of such a procedure against him and requests its dismissal in the Superior Court. This case, which concerns the right of every person in Quebec to benefit from secular judicial institutions, will be heard at the beginning of 2024.
Places of prayer in schools. In the spring of 2023, two public secondary schools in Laval set up “reflection rooms” to allow Muslim students who requested it to pray.
The National Assembly reacted immediately and unanimously adopted, on April 5, 2023, a motion affirming that the State of Quebec is secular, that public schools are not places of worship and that the establishment of places of prayer, in the premises of a public school, goes against the principle of secularism.
Minister of Education Bernard Drainville follows up on the National Assembly’s motion and issues a directive, on April 19, 2023, prohibiting the establishment of places of prayer on the premises of a public school.
As soon as this directive was announced, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association challenged the legal validity of this directive and requested a stay of its application while the case was heard on the merits. This request was first refused by the Superior Court in June, then by the Court of Appeal in July 2023. The Superior Court must now hear the arguments of the parties to rule on the validity of this directive.
The teaching of secularism. Quebec secularism was added to the mandatory content elements of the Quebec Culture and Citizenship program in August 2023.
Financing the challenge to the Law on State Secularism. Following the Superior Court’s decision confirming the validity of a large part of Bill 21, the mayor of the city of Brampton (Ontario) called on Canadian cities outside Quebec to finance the legal fight against this law . Several responded favorably to the call, including the City of Toronto.
A Toronto taxpayer has challenged his city’s decision to use public funds to pay $100,000 to three groups challenging Bill 21, arguing that a municipality cannot fund activities outside its jurisdiction. The Ontario Superior Court ruled in his favor in July 2023.
This decision should enlighten other Canadian cities wishing to intervene financially to challenge a law that falls under the jurisdiction of the Quebec government.
The Canadian Forces. On October 19, 2023, the Canadian Forces announced an overhaul of their directive “Public prayer during military ceremonies” to, among other things, comply with the Superior Court judgment on the religious neutrality of the State.
The reflection of a chaplain, delivered within the framework of a ceremony, a parade or a compulsory public gathering, must henceforth respect the religious and spiritual diversity of Canada so that all can participate in the reflection, whatever their their beliefs (religious, spiritual, agnostic, atheist).
What’s more, to illustrate the religious neutrality of the State, the insignia of the tradition of faith appearing on the chaplains’ scarf were replaced by the insignia of the Royal Canadian Chaplain Service and only the chaplains’ scarf is authorized to be worn with the military uniform during public ceremonies. A nod to Bill 21 in Quebec?
Religious exception. A criminal complaint was filed against Adil Charkaoui in connection with the speech he gave on October 28, which was considered hateful by more than one. This prosecution could, however, fail, since the Criminal Code offers a defense to people who willfully foment hatred to the extent that they have, “in good faith, expressed an opinion on a religious subject or an opinion based on a religious text in which he believes , or attempted to establish its merits by argument.” This complaint being perceived as a breach of the religious neutrality of the State and a serious obstacle to social peace, the Bloc Québécois took advantage of the opportunity to table Bill C-367 aimed at abolishing this religious exception in the hate speech.
All of these important elements will likely be resolved in 2024, a year which will also be marked by the highly anticipated decision of the Quebec Court of Appeal on the validity of Bill 21.