QUEBEC, Que. — Three legal experts working for the United Nations Human Rights Council have expressed their concerns about the Quebec government’s new secularism legislation, Bill 21 .In a letter sent to Canada’s mission office at the United Nations Wednesday, the experts ask the government for clarifications on Quebec’s bill, which is “likely to undermine the freedom of conscious, religion and equality of citizens.”
Bill 21 proposes to bar certain authority figures including judges, police officers and teachers from wearing religious symbols on the job. The ban would apply to new employees, not those already working for the government.
In the five-page letter dated May 17 and leaked to the media, the experts question the fact Quebec’s bill does not define what religious symbols are, which could lead to a “potentially discretionary and discriminatory interpretation.”
The experts add any limits on religious freedoms must be strictly defined, something the bill does not do. They noted the bill does specify why this ban “is necessary and proportionate to protect the security, order, public health and morality or fundamental rights and freedoms of others.”
“In particular, it is not established how the wearing of religious symbols specifically affects the fundamental rights and freedoms of others,” the letter states.
They add they are quite concerned about the potential consequences for people excluded from a public position.
And they add it’s clear the clause in Bill 21 requiring services to be delivered and received with the face visible “affects mainly certain religious minorities.”
The experts express concern the bill could be a violation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which Canada ratified in 1970.
A spokesperson for Simon Jolin-Barrette, Quebec Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness minister, said the government will study the letter, but believes Bill 21 is “pragmatic, applicable and moderate” and reflects the consensus of Quebecers.
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