All of Quebec’s subsidized private schools received letters from the provincial government telling them how to comply with the new law on secularism.
The letters were sent on Aug. 20 to private elementary and high schools throughout the province, including Montreal. The letter informed the schools that they must comply with Bill 21, saying all the schools received some form of subsidy from the provincial government.
In the letters the schools were told that Bill 21 requires “certain staff members of private schools and colleges that receive subsidies perform their duties with uncovered faces.”
School officials said when they received the letters there was confusion on whether staff must comply with the religious symbols portion of the bill, which forbids public employees in positions of authority, including teachers, from wearing visible symbols such as kippahs and hijabs while on the job.
However, they have received assurances that private schools would be exempt from that portion of the law.
One school official, who requested anonymity, said there had been no previous communication with the provincial government about Bill 21. Another expressed discomfort, saying parts of the bill “seem to be directed at one tiny percentage of the population and raises questions about Islamophobia.”
Several months ago, the Quebec Association of Independent Schools tweeted a promise to promote tolerance and diversity in schools. In an statement sent to CTV on Friday, the association said it remains opposed to the law.
“In the interim we will be following the provisions of the law that apply to our schools as described in the letter from the deputy minister,” they said.
A spokesperson for the Education Ministry said there are no plans to review the way private schools are funded in Quebec.
Earlier this week, both the English Montreal School Board and Commission Scolaire de Montreal announced they would comply with the law, despite voicing objections.
Parents should "examine their conscience"
Also on Friday, the president of the Independent Education Federation, a collection of teachers' unions, responded to a group of parents who demanded the right to pull their children out of classes taught by teachers wearing religious symbols. Bill 21 includes a grandfather clause that permits teachers who wear the symbols to keep working, providing they had started before the bill’s passage.
Sylvain Mallette called the parents’ request “unacceptable” and “pitiful” and called on parents to “examine their conscience,” saying the request was the same as refusing to allow a homosexual to teach their child.
- With files from The Canadian Press
