Key year | What does 2022 announce for the religious neutrality of the State?

The Supreme Court of Canada recalled, in 2015, the importance of the neutrality of the State, in fact and in appearance, to avoid any discriminatory interference with the freedom of conscience and religion of the citizens.¹. ^⁠However, because of its Constitution, its laws and its tax system, Canada still seems to favor systemic discrimination against non-believers today.².

Marie-Claude Girard
Retired from the Canadian Human Rights Commission

Will there be possible progress towards greater state neutrality in 2022? Here are a few things to think about.

At the federal level

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has just published the mandate letters he has given to each of his ministers^⁠3. In the introduction, he invites them to meet various communities, including “faith groups”.

Why thus promote dialogue with “believers” to the detriment of citizens who do not share these theistic visions of the world?

Some of the commitments requested from ministers could also have an impact on the religious neutrality of the Canadian state.

Here are a few examples:

– The Minister of Justice and Prosecutor of Canada, David Lametti, and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, have been given the mandate to introduce a bill to fight against online hatred, in particular by strengthening the Code criminal. Hopefully they will take the opportunity to repeal the religious hate propaganda exception from the Criminal Code, which provides protection for religious speech that harms an identifiable group if it is delivered in good faith and based on a text. religious. ^⁠4 The latter obviously offers an important privilege to believers.

– The Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion, Ahmed Hussen, is tasked with developing a national action plan to fight hate and hate crimes. It would be important for him to ensure that criticism of religions is always permitted and is not considered racism. To do otherwise would not only undermine freedom of expression, but also discriminate against non-believers who do not obtain such protection.

– The Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Mark Holland, and President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, were notably invited to work together to develop a plan to make the Parliament a more inclusive place and to update the Parliament of Canada Act. Will they take the opportunity to ask for the replacement of the prayer, recited at the beginning of each working session by the President of the Chamber, by a moment of meditation, in order to respect the freedom of conscience of the deputies and clerks present?

– The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraser, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, were invited to facilitate the safe passage and resettlement of vulnerable people from Afghanistan, notably by putting emphasis on “members of religious and ethnic minorities”. Will these ministers take the opportunity to include atheists, agnostics or apostates in danger or will they continue to favor “believers”?

It is the duty of each minister to ensure that his initiatives do not discriminate against citizens on the basis of their beliefs.

At the provincial level

The most important event concerning the neutrality of the Quebec state in 2022 will undoubtedly be the judgment of the Court of Appeal concerning the Law on State Secularism (law 21). But it won’t be just that.

The provincial elections will also be an opportunity to discuss the next steps to complete the secularism of the state.

During the hearings on Bill 21, several groups suggested the possibility of broadening the scope of Bill 21 to the entire school team, childcare centers, CEGEPs, the Director of youth protection and all those who act on its behalf, or even the entire public service.

Others have called for the withdrawal of funding for private denominational schools, as is the case in Ontario, or the end of tax privileges granted to religious communities. It will be interesting to see what each of the political parties comes up with in this regard.

The year 2022 therefore risks being a pivotal year for identifying the next steps in order to complete the road towards greater religious neutrality of the Quebec state, which began during the Quiet Revolution.