Quebec’s largest English-language school board will move forward in its fight against the province’s controversial secularism law, known as Bill 21.
The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) hopes the Supreme Court of Canada will hear its appeal after a vote by its council of commissioners Wednesday.
The move comes after Quebec’s Court of Appeal ruled in late February the law is constitutional and the lower court was wrong to exempt English school boards from it.
Bill 21 bars public sector workers in positions of authority — including teachers, judges, and police officers — from wearing religious symbols on the job. It was passed into law in June 2019.
“We maintain our original position that Bill 21 conflicts with our values and our mission and with those of all Quebecers as expressed in the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms,” board chair Joe Ortona said in a statement.
“Its very adoption was contrary to our societal goal of promoting our peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic Quebec.”
Quebec Premier François Legault has roundly defended Bill 21 over the years, saying it has support from the majority of Quebecers.
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Under the law, school boards cannot hire new teachers who wear religious symbols. The EMSB says the secularism legislation prevents it from hiring new staff during an ongoing teacher shortage.
Current employees who do wear religious symbols also cannot change jobs or advance in their careers, the school board added.
“Most importantly it sends a message of intolerance and exclusion to our students and their families,” Ortona said.
While 12 of the EMSB commissioners voted in favour of the motion to appeal the latest ruling, one voted against based on grounds of the mounting financial legal burden. So far, the board has spent $1.3 million on the court challenges over five years.
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