In June 2019, the Canadian province of Quebec passed a controversial law called Bill 21 that sparked outrage across the region and nation. Bill 21 bans certain categories of public employees from wearing religious symbols at work. Teachers, judges, police officers, among other civil servants, are prohibited from wearing symbols of their faith (including hijabs, kippahs, and turbans) in the workplace. The bill also affects Muslim women who wear a full-face veil in a large way as it requires people to uncover their faces for security purposes or confirming identity to receive government services, including healthcare and public transit.

Quebec preemptively invoked the exceptional “notwithstanding” clause, which allows provincial or federal authorities to temporarily override some of the guarantees of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, making it difficult to overturn the law in the courts. This is exceptionally rare clause that is used when passing a bill.

In May, three United Nations special rapporteurs warned that the law is “likely to undermine the freedom of conscience, religion and equality of citizens.”

When passed, Legault, the premier of Quebec since 2018 and Leader of the Coalition Avenir Québec said “As you can understand, we are very happy that we won this case and that Bill 21 will be able to continue to be applied,”

Why is it a problem?

It targets people who express their faith through what they wear(hijabs, kippahs, and turbans), all which are much more visible and harder to hide (like a Christian cross necklace one can easily hide behind their shirt). People should not be forced to make the choice between their religion, and their profession. The government should not be allowed to force their beliefs on the people of Quebec, nor should they be able to tell individuals what they can and cannot wear.

Bill 21 targets religious women/men; a very prominent example is how the hijab or niqab is worn by Muslim women, and the turban is worn by Sikh men. By targeting these religious women/men, as Bill 21 does, the legislation constitutes sex discrimination against these women/men, and thus violates Canada's equal rights.

Women/men who choose to wear scarves, hats, and turbans should also have a right to freedom of expression and religion, and to make their own choices without government interference, like all people in Canada. This also goes to show that xenophobia is also rampant in Canada, and must be talked about.