Last night, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) passed the controversial Bill 21 at 10:30 PM after months of debate. During the marathon National Assembly session, Legault imposed a gag rule to force Quebec MNAs to vote on both Bill 21 and an immigration bill. The bill passed 73 votes for to 35 against — the expected outcome as the CAQ has a majority government. Bill 21 will prevent many government and public sector employees from wearing religious symbols. Opposition parties in the National Assembly are concerned over some key aspects of the bill — chiefly an amendment which threatens "corrective measures" for people who don't comply with the new law. Quebeckers from all walks of life have swiftly reacted to the news of Bill 21's implementation. Though less than 24 hours old, protests and even legal action against the bill are already underway. Many have negatively reacted to the news, some saying the bill is bigoted. A shameful day for Quebec and a dagger to the Canadian values enshrined in the Charter. It is a huge blow to diversity and inclusiveness. #Bill21 is a-state-mandated racism and bigotry disguised as secularism.— Chirine Haddad (@chirine_haddad) June 17, 2019 The new law will only require government and public "persons of authority" to remove their religious symbols. Quebec workers who have already worn their symbols before the bill became law are exempt from it. I am an atheist and believe that governments should be secular.But #Bill21 is not secularism - it is state mandated racism and bigotry disguised as secularism. A sad day for Canada. #cdnpoli #qcpolihttps://t.co/3zw1MPhRSG— Picard🏳️🌈🇨🇦 (@Picard_Resists) June 17, 2019 “Quebec’s new law runs counter to the fundamental principles of equality, dignity and respect. There is no evidence to suggest that discrimination is necessary to protect the secularism of the state. The law targets people for their religious beliefs. #Bill21— Human Rights Canada (@CdnHumanRights) June 17, 2019 Groups such as the National Council of Canadian Muslims have partnered up with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, filing an injunction and asking the law be declared invalid. According to La Presse, the law contains a clause which could potentially exempt it from the Quebec and Canadian Charters of Rights and Values, however. READ ALSO: The Quebec Government Will Use Punishments To Force People To Remove Their Religious Symbols Under Bill 21 Bill 21 is a contentious topic in Quebec and many are divided on the issue. View this post on Instagram Le premier ministre François Legault a annoncé une aide de 17 M$ à Prompt, qui devrait créer jusqu’à 400 emplois avec des salaires moyens de 90 000 $ par année. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ #CAQ #polqc #emplois #outaouais #gatineau A post shared by Coalition Avenir Québec (@coalition_avenir_quebec) on Jun 7, 2019 at 6:26pm PDT Bravo! #Quebec passes law banning public servants from wearing religious symbols like the #Hijab. At least there is one government in the West brave enough to tackle Islamism and the flaunting of its symbols. Thank you Premier @FrancoisLegault. #cdnpoli https://t.co/YJmFLoczEK— Tarek Fatah (@TarekFatah) June 17, 2019 Expect the debate to continue in the coming months as both the Liberal and Québec Solidaire parties opposed the bill. .@mukhbir_ : "@WorldSikhOrg will work with community partners in Quebec to oppose this legislation with every means available to us. The fight against this secularism law will be a historic struggle that will have a permanent impact on human rights in Canada."— WSO (@WorldSikhOrg) June 17, 2019 Many are worried about the potential of a "secularism police" that will look for people who are opposing the law. The CAQ categorically denies this. Failure to describe the context leading up to the shooting of two women during a Toronto parade today or the adoption of Bill 21, which restricts wearing religious symbols including women’s hijabs in Quebec just goes to show our national numbness to white supremacy in Canada.— Devon Spier (@devon_spier) June 17, 2019 Though many Quebeckers agree with Bill 21, opposition to it will continue to rage on. To learn more about the secularism debate, please read this article from CBC News. For more information on Quebec's new religious symbols law, check out MTLBlog's video below.
