Bill 21: Quebec set to renew notwithstanding clause for another five years

Women wear hijabs as they walk along a street in Montreal, Thursday, August 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

The Legault government will table a bill on Thursday to protect its secularism law for another five years.

The minister responsible for secularism, Jean-François Roberge, will propose renewing the use of the notwithstanding clause that was first invoked in June 2019 when the law was adopted, his office confirmed to The Canadian Press.

Bill 21 prohibits government employees in positions of authority, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols such as the Muslim headscarf, the Jewish yarmulke, the Sikh turban and Christian crosses.

On Wednesday, the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) said it would oppose renewing the notwithstanding clause to protect the secularism law from lawsuits.

"Everything we said about (Bill) 21 before the election, during the election and after the election remains the same: we will not support the renewal of the notwithstanding clause," said MNA Madwa-Nika Cadet at a press briefing.

Roberge's bill could, however, benefit from the support of the Parti Québécois (PQ) and Québec Solidaire (QS). PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said he was "obviously in favour."

On the QS side, co-spokesperson Émilise Lessard-Therrien reiterated her party's opposition to banning government employees in positions of authority form wearing religious symbols.

The debate on Bill 21 must take place in Quebec, not under the Canadian Constitution, which Quebec never signed, she said. "On the principle of renewing the notwithstanding clause, we're totally in favour of that."

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 7, 2024.