The fallout from the provincial government’s controversial law on religious neutrality continued on Sunday, with protesters condemning Bill 62 in strong terms.
At a rally outside Snowdon metro station, Afifa Suleman said she wears a niqab out of personal choice, saying the garment “isn’t oppression. Oppression is forcing us to take it off.”
“I have no issue showing my identity. I think it’s essential for security,” she said. “If police need to see my face, I’m happy to show it because that’s essential. But on a bus ride and other things, you don’t need to see my face.”
“When I go into any government building, my passport, my license, I remove it, happily, because it’s essential. But outside, in public services and at schools and everywhere else, I really don’t think we should be denied our fundamental right to wear or not wear what we choose.”
At a press conference announcing his youth platform, Coderre came out again against Bill 62, calling it “unenforceable in Montreal.” A day earlier, his mayoral opponent Valerie Plante also spoke out against the bill, saying it was disconnected from the reality of life in Montreal.
