The ban on teachers wearing religious symbols “deeply” divides French-speaking and English-speaking people, shows a poll commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies almost a month after the dismissal of a veiled teacher of a third year class.
Moreover, the idea of freeing English-language school boards from the Act respecting the secularism of the state appeals to some 50% of English-speaking Quebecers, but only 11% of French-speaking Quebecers, according to the sounding carried out by the firm Léger ten days ago.
On the other hand, 29.1% of Anglos and 70.1% of Francos oppose lifting the ban on the wearing of religious symbols for English-language public elementary and secondary schools in Quebec.
Two and a half years after its adoption, Bill 21 remains a source of division in Quebec, according to 71.9% of Anglophones and 38.1% of Francophones surveyed by Léger.
Moreover, Quebeckers who oppose the Act respecting the secularism of the state are considered “disloyal” to the nation by 34.1% of the French-speaking population and 11.3% of the English-speaking population, perhaps we read in the survey report that The duty and The Gazette got a copy on Tuesday.
Federal intervention
The Association for Canadian Studies has seen fit to probe once again the hearts and loins of Quebecers — and Canadians — on Bill 21, a few weeks after the reassignment to other tasks of Fatemeh Anvari, who taught in a school Chelsea primary while insisting on wearing his hijab.
Moreover, according to the survey, 61.3% of Anglophones and 31.6% of Francophones disapprove of the decision taken by the Western Quebec School Board to withdraw Mme Anvari her job as a teacher after giving it to her in contravention of Law 21.
“It’s not right to see this in Canada,” lamented Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last December. The head of the federal government kept, he said, the possibility of “intervening at the right time” in the “court challenge process, [qui, pour l’instant] is done in a completely appropriate and legitimate way by Quebecers”.
Canadians have reservations about the idea of Ottawa taking part in the legal battle against the law prohibiting the wearing of religious symbols by certain employees of the Quebec state, which will in all likelihood be taken to the Supreme Court of Canada. In fact, 39% of people polled from one bank to the other by Léger agree with sending the Attorney General of Canada to the camp of opponents of Bill 21. Some 29% of respondents are for their disagree. The others (32%) are not sure what to think or prefer not to show their colors.
That said, a majority of Canadians (63%) and Quebecers (57%) find it “important” that the highest court in the country determines whether Bill 21 – a “moderate” law, according to Quebec Premier François Legault – discriminates against believers.
The Léger-Association for Canadian Studies survey was conducted online among 1,547 Canadians aged 18 or older between January 7 and January 9, 2022. A probability sample of this size would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 .9% in 19 out of 20 cases.