Quebec’s Bill 9 Would Outlaw Public Prayer, Expand Restrictions On Religious Expression
(ANALYSIS) Until the 1960s, Quebec was the most religious part of North America. Now it is home to an aggressive secularist government that on Nov. 27 introduced a proposed law, Bill 9, that would outlaw public prayer.
When the British defeated the French in 1759 to take control of what is now Canada, they left largely French-speaking Quebec to manage its internal affairs. This meant that most of the Province's institutions continued to be run by the Catholic Church.
The 1789 Revolution that dethroned the Church in France had little effect on the other side of the Atlantic and, consequently, Quebec continued many of the clerical traditions of pre-revolutionary France.
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While bishops and archbishops held no formal political office, they were powerful public figures whose influence the government ignored at its peril. The public schools in the province were explicitly Catholic, although the government also funded a separate Protestant system. Hospitals and other social agencies were run largely by the church.
For several centuries, religious minorities faced discrimination and, until the 1960s, Jehovah's Witnesses were still being arrested for their refusal to salute the flag and for their efforts to spread their religion.
This ascendency of religion changed with stunning speed in the 1960's in what has become known as the "Quiet Revolution." Rapid secularization and changing legislation eroded the Catholic Church's pervasive influence over public life, including its control of education and social services. The Catholic and Protestant school systems were reshaped as French and English schools.
Despite these changes, many Quebec governments have not been satisfied merely with virtual disestablishment but have also moved aggressively to completely remove religious expression from public space.
In 2019, it passed Bill 21 forbidding public employees in positions of authority, such as judges, police, and teachers, from wearing religious symbols such as a hijab, kippah, or turban, while at work. It says it plans to extend these prohibitions.
Bill 21 violated the "fundamental freedoms" provided in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed in Canada's 1982 Constitution. However, that Constitution, unlike the U.S., but like Israel and the U.K., also has a provision that can counter and circumscribe these rights.
This is the "notwithstanding clause," which allows the federal Parliament or a provincial legislature to pass laws notwithstanding the fact that they undercut some Charter rights.
Each law must state that it will apply notwithstanding, and this clause's reach is limited because it must be renewed by the relevant legislature every five years or else it lapses.
Quebec has used this clause frequently and the current governing Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) has stated that it intends to invoke it again to make Bill 9 law.
Jean-François Roberge, Quebec's secularism minister, has said the controversial new provisions in Bill 9 were only the latest steps in working towards full secularization. He has criticized previous accommodations by post-secondary institutions, including having prayer rooms, and told reporters that the schools “are not temples or churches or those kinds of places.”
Apparently, in a strikingly sectarian fashion that contradicts almost every religion in the world, Roberge thinks that religion is something confined to particular spaces at particular times.
Bill 9 would extend the ban on wearing religious symbols to staff in subsidized daycares, forbid students and staff from wearing face coverings from daycare through university, and bar "collective religious practices" such as prayer in public spaces, such as parks, without prior authorization from municipalities.
It would also phase out public subsidies for religious private schools that select their students or staff based on their religious affiliation, or that teach religious content. This would be done over a period of three years.
Finally, it would also limit the exclusive offering of religion-based menus, like kosher and halal meals, in public institutions. Such meals can be an option, but there must be alternatives provided.
The proposed law will apply to every religion, but is principally in reaction to some Muslim practices. Roberge has alluded to recent protests, including groups praying at pro-Palestinian demonstrations: "It's shocking to see people blocking traffic, taking possession of the public space without a permit, without warning, and then turning our streets, our parks, our public squares into places of worship."
As the Canadian Civil Liberties Association has stated: "State secularism means the separation of religion from government institutions and the neutrality of the state towards religions. … This does not give the government license to suppress manifestations of religion in public spaces.”
Anaïs Bussieres McNicoll, the Director of the CCLA's "Fundamental Freedoms Program," added, “Public spaces belong to everyone. … The freedom to express one’s thoughts, opinions and beliefs in public, including through prayer, is a cornerstone of any democratic society.”
Paul Marshall is Wilson Professor of Religious Freedom at Baylor’s Institute for Studies of Religion, director of the Religious Freedom Institute’s South and Southeast Asia Action Team, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and author of over 20 books on religion and politics. His latest book is “Called to be Friends: Called to Serve.”