The city of Toronto will ultimately not contest the judgment which prevented it from financing a legal challenge to the Law on State Secularism — known as Bill 21 before its passage.
Even though the Queen City had appealed the judgment rendered last July, it has just informed the Court that it will ultimately not move forward.
It had been decided by the Superior Court of Ontario that the part of the Toronto municipal bylaw authorizing funding of up to $100,000 for groups wishing to challenge the Quebec Law on State Secularism is invalid, “without force or effect”.
Judge William Chalmers thus deleted this portion of the by-law, ruling that it had not been adopted for valid municipal objectives.
There Law on State Secularism, adopted in 2019, notably prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by certain government employees when they are carrying out their duties, such as primary and secondary school teachers, police officers, judges and prosecutors. Crown. The Act does not apply outside of Quebec, recalled Judge Chalmers.
Toronto City Council had expressed its opposition to the Quebec legislation and encouraged the federal government to challenge it. Then, in December 2021, it adopted a regulation providing for a one-time financial contribution of a maximum of $100,000.
The municipality was also ordered to pay an amount of $15,000 to Louis Labrecque, a Toronto resident who had contested the municipal by-law, in order to compensate him for the costs incurred during his legal proceedings.
Tuesday, the non-profit organization Droits collectives Québec (DCQ) welcomed the decision of the City of Toronto municipal council to abandon its appeal. DCQ notes that the Queen City had not paid any sums to the groups contesting the Quebec law.