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<aside> 💡 The legal framework, human rights charters, and public opinion surrounding religious discrimination in Canada. Religious discrimination is condemned primarily in the Canadian Human Rights Act in Section 2a) titled "Freedom of Religion". In addition to Motion 103 is a non-binding motion which the House of Commons called upon the Government of Canada to condemn Islamophobia. We will then discuss Bill 21 that is in effect in Quebec and how that questions Freedom of Religion in Canada.
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Section 2(a) of the Canadian Human Rights Act states that "everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: a)freedom of conscience and religion."
The purpose of this section in the CHRA according to the Government of Canada's Department of Justice is to "prevent interference with profoundly held personal beliefs that govern one’s perception of oneself, humankind, nature, and, in some cases, a higher or different order of being".
What is Bill 21?
Bill 21 is part of the Coalition Avenir Quebec party campaign promise, that originated from Parti Québécois's Charter of Values. Prime Minister François Legault responded to the public that his objective is to unite Quebecers. According to Coalition Avenir Quebec, the motive to enact Bill 21 stemmed from Quebec’s "civil law tradition and distinct social values, which have historically developed an attachment to state laicity.". "Laïcity” is defined in the bill as a form of open secularism separating religion from government.
Quebec's National Assembly passed Bill No.21 with a 75–35 vote, on June 16, 2019. The bill prohibits the display of religious symbols by public-sector workers in the workplace. The Bill was controversial as it was the fourth attempt the Québécois government has made in the past ten years to introduce religious neutrality to the province.
The bill is enforced by requiring teachers and some civil servants to not wear any religious symbols at work.
[Source: Graham Hughes/Canadian Press](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bill-21-protests-montreal-1.5088265)
Source: Graham Hughes/Canadian Press
Bill 21 is based on four principles: