After 22 years, Montreal teacher who wears hijab retires under shadow of Bill 21
When a teacher retires, they generally reflect on the past, but Carlyle Elementary School teacher Hanifya Scott can't help but think about what’s going to happen to her students in the future.
Scott wears a hijab and under Bill 21, Quebec's secularism law that prohibits certain public sector workers from wearing religious symbols, teachers like her can no longer be hired at Quebec schools.
It made for a retirement assembly that included hard lessons on the last day of school about Bill 21.
Scott said she wonders what impact the law will have on her students.
"What view are they going to have if they’re not exposed to any and everything that's in this world?" she said Thursday. "That’s not education."
Students at the Mount Royal school were also trying to make sense of what the future could hold.
That includes Raveen Singh, who wears a turban and wants to be a teacher. He said he struggled to understand the reasoning for such a law that critics say disproportionately targets racial and religious minorities.
"Everyone is different and you shouldn’t judge people just because they’re different from you," said Yehuda Knopf, a Grade 3 student.
With Scott retiring, the school's principal is also worried about finding her replacement.
"We will not be able to hire a teacher of the calibre of Ms. Scott," said Dina Vourdousis. "To say it’s a shame is an understatement."
The legal challenge to Bill 21 continues, with the next step an expected ruling from Quebec's Court of Appeal.
So far, as English Montreal School Board (EMSB) officials are concerned, they say they plan on taking those challenges to the highest court in the land.
"If we lose, which I think is highly unlikely, we would take a serious look at the decision and go to the Supreme Court, absolutely," said Joe Ortona, the EMSB chairman.
CTV News reached out to the education ministry for comment about the legal challenges to Bill 21, but did not receive a response before publication time.
In the meantime, Scott is leaving with her own message to students.
"The children have to be exposed to everything so that they can make their own choice. It’s not always what your parents tell you to do or the government tells you to do," she said. "You have a mind of your own."
She just hopes that after 22 years of teaching, that will be the biggest lesson her students take to heart.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.