Prime Minister François Legault did not contravene “Law 21” by writing on Twitter that the culture of Quebec solidarity is rooted in Catholicism, but he may have betrayed its “spirit”, observes lawyer Guillaume Rousseau, who defended the State Secularism Act before the courts.
Tabled by the Coalition avenir Québec and adopted in 2019 by the National Assembly, the law on religious neutrality stipulates “that, as part of their mission, parliamentary, governmental and judicial institutions respect” principles such as “the separation of ‘state and religions’ and ‘the religious neutrality of the state’. It oversees the actions of municipalities and school boards, but also of government departments.
As Premier, François Legault is also responsible for the Ministry of Executive Council. “Clearly, there are aspects of the law that target elected officials. Therefore, it is not at all absurd to make a link between what the Prime Minister or another elected official says on the public scene and the Act respecting the secularism of the State”, analyzes Professor Guillaume Rousseau, who teaches at the Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke.
Monday morning, Mr. Legault quoted in a tweet a column by Mathieu Bock-Côté according to which “Catholicism has also generated in us [les Québécois] a culture of solidarity that sets us apart on a continental scale”. The short tweet generated an avalanche of reactions, particularly from opposition parties in the National Assembly, and prompted the elected representative of the Coalition avenir Québec to affirm that “we must distinguish between secularism and our heritage”.
Guillaume Rousseau, who notably represented the Mouvement laïque québécois when Bill 21 was challenged in court, published in 2020 the book Law on the secularism of the State commented and annotated: philosophy, genesis, interpretation and application. In his eyes, François Legault’s tweet does not violate the legislative and legal framework in Quebec.
“What is, in some way, codified in the Law on the secularism of the State, it is the prohibition for the representatives of the State to practice their religion within the framework of their functions. So the mayor of Saguenay [Jean Tremblay] who says his prayers to the City Council”, he exemplifies.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ordered the City of Saguenay to end the recitation of prayers in the city council’s deliberation room. The objective, to ensure that the municipality respects “in fact and in appearance” the principle of religious neutrality. “There, the Prime Minister does not practice a religion, it is a commentary”, analyzes Guillaume Rousseau. “He didn’t say a ‘Hail Mary’ from his office. »
Guillaume Rousseau agrees, however, that questions arise about Mr. Legault’s compliance with the “spirit” of Bill 21. “In the spirit of the law, should a prime minister abstain? I would tell you that it is open to debate, ”he says. “The precise meaning of a law is built up as it goes along. »
“Monumental mistake”
Last week, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, announced his intention to send Quebec public schools a directive prohibiting them from setting up prayer rooms on their premises. This practice, he said, is “simply not compatible with the principle of secularism and with the Secularism Act”.
According to the president of the Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ), Daniel Baril, the Prime Minister’s tweet, published a few days later, does not follow the same logic at all. By sharing Mathieu Bock-Côté’s column, François Legault went “against the republican concept of secularism that we want to be ours here in Quebec,” he argues. “It seems clear and obvious to me. »
Rather than defending secular Quebec, François Legault conveys a “Catholic-secular” point of view, protests Mr. Baril in an interview with The duty. “By quoting Mathieu Bock-Côté, he gives opponents of the Secularism Act ammunition. It’s a monumental mistake on his part, ”he thunders on the other end of the line.
“Dangerous” interpretation
Despite these criticisms, Mr. Legault’s office defends the Prime Minister’s tweet. secularism? “, replied the press secretary of Mr. Legault, Ewan Sauves, at the DutyTuesday.
An opinion shared by the associate professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke Maxime St-Hilaire. “Observing a link between a Catholic past and a current culture of solidarity — I’m not telling you that’s fair — is that in itself adhering to or favoring a belief? Or can’t it be a statement that wants to be a statement of fact? he wonders. “To say that is not necessarily a lack of religious neutrality. »
“It would be very dangerous to interpret, even, the spirit of the Law on secularism as not admitting any hypothesis or sociological or historical thesis”, he continues.
As these lines were written, François Legault’s tweet was still enthroned on his Twitter feed. Just like the thousand answers left below.