Canadian Muslims consider legal action against new Quebec secularism bill
National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) says it is weighing legal action after the Quebec government introduced a sweeping new secularism bill
MONTREAL, Canada (MNTV) – The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) says it is weighing legal action after the Quebec government introduced a sweeping new secularism bill that expands earlier restrictions on religious expression.
Quebec’s minister for secularism, Jean-François Roberge, presented Bill 9, which builds on Bill 21 by proposing bans on face coverings and religious symbols in schools, as well as a prohibition on public prayer.
“Let’s not kid ourselves: this bill targets Muslims,” NCCM CEO Stephen Brown said, calling it “a crass example of electoral wedge politics.”
Brown said the legislation serves as a distraction from the province’s real problems — including gaps in healthcare, education, and cost-of-living pressures — while further marginalizing Muslim communities. The government has again invoked the notwithstanding clause, as it did for Bill 21, which is currently before the Supreme Court.
He said the group is “looking at our legal options,” adding that the bill raises serious rule-of-law concerns noted by the Barreau du Québec. “When you use quasi-emergency powers to tell people they cannot pray in parks, you undermine a core concept of Quebec society: live and let live,” he said.
Religious groups and unions condemned the bill for targeting minorities.
The Anglican bishops of Montreal and Quebec called it a “heavy-handed solution to non-existent problems,” accusing the government of erasing religion from public life instead of recognizing it as a normal part of daily experience for many Quebecers.
A union representing early childhood educators said the law shuts out thousands of hijab-wearing women from jobs. “Let’s be frank — it’s veiled women who are targeted by this bill,” said union president Sylvie Nelson.
Bill 9 also ends public subsidies for religious private schools, bans religious symbols in daycares, and requires faces to be uncovered at all times in childcare settings.
It further restricts institutional food options, prohibiting hospitals and daycares from serving exclusively halal or kosher menus. Officials said Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital would need to offer additional options if it continues serving kosher meals.
Jewish schools pointed media to a statement from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which supported the bill’s ban on “street-blocking prayers,” describing them as tools of “radical Islamists.”
CIJA’s senior vice-president Eta Yudin also backed a ban on face veils in higher education, citing safety and gender equality concerns.
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