Montreal school board to ask Supreme Court to hear appeal of Quebec secularism law
The debate over the constitutionality of Quebec's secularism law is poised to go to the Supreme Court of Canada.
On Wednesday evening, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) voted in favour of asking Canada's top court to rule on Bill 21 after a Feb. 29 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the law.
In a unanimous decision, the province's highest court upheld the law that prohibits public sector workers in positions of authority — including teachers, judges and police officers — from wearing religious symbols on the job.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims was one of many groups that had intervenor status in the previous legal challenge of the law.
The ruling was a blow to the EMSB, Quebec's largest English-language public school board, which had previously been exempted from the law after a ruling by the Superior Court of Quebec.
Commissioner Pietro Mercuri said at Wednesday's meeting that the board's vote was an important historical lesson about standing up for fundamental rights.
"History has shown that when governments denied people jobs in positions based on how they look, how they dress due to their faith, it's only a precursor for even worse things to come," he said. "Bill 21 excludes people from obtaining certain jobs in positions based on what they wear according to their faith. Not continuing a fight against Bill 21, Mr. Chairman, in my opinion, is a profound disrespect against previous generations who have fought to protect people who have been marginalized and made to feel unwanted by their government."
During a special board meeting, 12 board members voted in favour of a motion to bring the challenge to the Supreme Court.
One member voted against, one abstained and another was not present.
To help pass the law, Premier François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government relied on preemptively using the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms' notwithstanding clause, which shields legislation from most court challenges over violations of fundamental rights.
The Quebec Superior Court had exempted English school boards from certain provisions of the law on the basis that minority language education rights — which aren't covered by the Charter's notwithstanding clause — weren't respected.
However, the three-judge appeal panel rejected that analysis in its February ruling.
Debate over legal costs
According to commissioner Joseph Lalla, the board has already spent $1.3 million to date in legal costs in challenging the law.
Some commissioners raised concerns about the funds being better spent elsewhere in its schools and where the new funds for the upcoming appeal will come from.
He was critical of the board for not reaching out to other school boards to help finance an appeal to Canada's highest court.
"Why would they contribute any money at this point because if we are successful at the Supreme Court they will get all the benefits without costing a single penny for them," Lalla said.
He nevertheless supported the motion, saying "there are times when the EMSB must fight for its value and its rights, which are being encroached upon by the CAQ government."
EMSB Chair Joe Ortona said in February the money spent so far represented a small fraction of the board's $2 billion budget over the last five years.
Julien Feldman also voted yes on the motion on Wednesday.
"I appreciate the debate about the money," he said, "but, frankly, I believe the debate should be about the principles of the matter and the merits of the case."
-- with files from The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders call criticism 'misguided,' say they aren't to blame for high food prices
Loblaw chairman Galen Weston and the company's new CEO are pushing back against critics who blame the grocery giant for soaring food prices, as a month-long boycott of the retailer gets underway.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
'Giant-killer' Kazushi Kimura to race in Kentucky Derby this weekend: 'I'm representing Canada and Japan'
Six years ago, at age 18, Kazushi Kimura left his home and family behind in Hokkaido, Japan to chase a dream. This weekend, he'll ride in the Kentucky Derby.
'What have we done?' Lawyer describes shock at possible role in Trump's 2016 victory
A lawyer who negotiated a pair of hush money deals at the centre of Donald Trump's criminal trial recalled Thursday his "gallows humor" reaction to Trump's 2016 election victory and the realization that his hidden-hand efforts might have contributed to the win.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
Quebec premier asks police to dismantle camp at McGill University
Quebec Premier Francois Legault has called on the police to dismantle the pro-Palestinian protest encampment on the lower field of McGill University's downtown campus in Montreal.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada’s financial-crime watchdog has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.