Quebec solidaire (QS) activists want to reopen the State Secularism Act to remove the ban on the wearing of religious symbols and delete the exemption provisions. The party will debate the proposal this weekend, at its convention in Montreal.
The spokesperson for the political formation, Camila Rodriguez-Cea, confirmed to the To have to that activists had submitted a draft amendment to the leadership. This establishes that “a united government will amend the Law on the secularism of the State to remove the discriminatory articles concerning the prohibition of the wearing of religious symbols. […] and derogatory clauses ”.
The proposal will go to a vote on Sunday. It could end up in the solidarity electoral platform, if it is adopted.
Assented to in 2019, the law on religious neutrality obliges state employees in positions of authority to remove all religious symbols in the performance of their duties. Among those affected: police, teachers and lawyers, in particular.
“Bill 21” is somewhat shielded by the use of the notwithstanding clause, or “notwithstanding clause”. Quebec Superior Court judge Marc-André Blanchard spoke of a “legally unassailable” text last April.
However, this is what some solidarity activists want to tackle. By immediately repealing the notwithstanding clause, a government would resubmit the law to the scrutiny of the courts, which could invalidate certain sections of the law.
Congress
It is within the framework of its congress that Québec solidaire will once again examine its position vis-à-vis secularism. This great partisan event will lead to the subsequent adoption of the party’s commitments for October 2022.
In the book of proposals sent to journalists on Thursday, secularism did not however show up. It was by noting this absence that local associations proposed to the office to modify its initial program to include the party’s position on “law 21”.
To explain the party’s decision, Camila Rodriguez-Cea indicated that “ [la question de la laïcité] was not raised ”at the time of the membership consultation this year. “The platform cannot take 100% of our historical positions, but that does not invalidate them. We remain firmly against Law 21, ”she wrote.
In 2019, in the national council, QS abandoned its historic support for the Bouchard-Taylor compromise in order to disagree with any ban on religious symbols.
The current Québec solidaire program nonetheless advocates “the complete secularism of the State and of public services, of the judicial system and of the education system”.