Quebec Premier Francois Legault gestures as he responds to a question during a news conference in Montreal, on Thursday, April 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson
Quebec’s premier is hinting that upcoming legislation strengthening the province’s language laws will include the notwithstanding clause to protect the bill from constitutional challenges.
The notwithstanding clause – Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – allows governments to adopt laws that violate Canadians’ fundamental freedoms such as freedom of thought and religion.
Legault told reporters today there is a “good chance” the new language bill will include the controversial clause because a judge earlier this week struck down part of his government’s secularism law, known as Bill 21.
Good chance new Quebec language bill will include notwithstanding clause: Legault
panow.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from panow.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Good chance new Quebec language bill will include notwithstanding clause: Legault
yorktonthisweek.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yorktonthisweek.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Good chance new Quebec language bill will include notwithstanding clause: Legault
kamloopsthisweek.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kamloopsthisweek.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
iPolitics By Kevin Dougherty. Published on Apr 20, 2021 5:42pm
English schools in Quebec do not have to conform with Quebec’s law on secularism banning teachers from wearing religious signs, such as the Islamic hijab or the Jewish kippah, the Quebec Superior Court ruled on Tuesday.
In a 240-page decision, Justice Marc-André Blanchard ruled that Article 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, guaranteeing minority language rights, also guarantees the cultural rights of Quebec’s English community.
That means English schools can hire teachers who wear religious signs to reflect the diversity of students in Quebec’s English schools.
Blanchard based his ruling on a 1988 Supreme Court of Canada decision overruling a French-only requirement on business signs in Quebec and Article 23, which cannot be overridden by the notwithstanding clause.