CCLA Strongly Condemns Passage of Quebec’s Bill 9

MONTREAL — The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) strongly condemns the passage of Quebec’s Bill 9.

The passage of Bill 9 is another example of the Quebec government’s ongoing attack on freedom of religion, freedom of expression, protest rights, and equality. By once again invoking the notwithstanding clauses of the Quebec and Canadian Charters of Rights and Freedoms, the Quebec government has expanded its use of extraordinary legislative powers to override fundamental rights and freedoms, setting a dangerous precedent for the erosion of constitutional protections for Quebecers.

Bill 9 doubles down on the harms of Bill 21 by expanding the existing ban on the wearing of religious symbols to daycare workers and staff of subsidized private educational institutions. It also bans people from wearing religious face coverings while receiving educational services and restricts religious accommodations in the public sector. These harmful measures disproportionately target and marginalize religious and racialized minorities, especially Muslim women.

“It is especially troubling that the Quebec National Assembly has passed this law extending the harms of Bill 21 while the Supreme Court of Canada is currently determining the constitutional validity of Bill 21,” said Harini Sivalingam, Director of the Equality Program at the CCLA.

Bill 9 represents a clear and alarming infringement on freedom of religion, expression, peaceful assembly. This sweeping legislation places serious limits on collective religious practice in public and creates new restrictions that could penalize peaceful demonstrations near places of worship.

“Public spaces belong to everyone. The right to peacefully protest and publicly express religious beliefs should not be curtailed under the guise of state neutrality,” said Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the CCLA. “State secularism does not provide a licence to infringe fundamental rights and freedoms that are essential in a democratic society.”

The CCLA warns that normalizing the use of constitutional override powers to pass laws that infringe fundamental freedoms risks weakening rights protections for everyone. Governments should not be permitted to sidestep Charter protections whenever rights become politically inconvenient.

“Rights and freedoms are not optional, and they should not depend on the government of the day,” said Howard Sapers, Executive Director of the CCLA. “When governments pass laws that target minorities and limit fundamental freedoms, they undermine the rights of everyone.”

The CCLA stands in solidarity with the communities most directly affected by this law and will continue to defend the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people in Quebec and across Canada.

Read CCLA’s Submission to the National Assembly here (French Only).