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The Quebec government is putting forward a bill that would extend the province’s ban on the wearing of religious symbols to support staff in schools, and prohibit students from having their faces covered.
Legislation would extend ban on religious symbols to staff providing lunch and after-school careBenjamin Shingler · CBC News
· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 11:17 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago
Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville put forward the legislation Thursday. (Sylvain Roy Roussel/CBC)The Quebec government is putting forward a bill that would extend the province’s ban on the wearing of religious symbols to support staff in schools, and prohibit students from having their faces covered.
The legislation would extend the ban on the wearing of religious symbols to all staff in public schools and school service centres, not just teachers and principals, as was previously the case under Bill 21. That law is facing a challenge at the Supreme Court.
This would include Muslim women who wear head scarves and provide care to students enrolled in before and after-school care. A historical clause for staff already in their position is included in the bill.
Education Minister Bernard Drainville said the legislation is an attempt to strengthen secularism after reports of problems involving religion in some schools. He told reporters that schools in Quebec must respect the “values of Quebec.”
“In Quebec, we made the decision that state and the religion are separate. And today we say the public schools are separate from religion,” said Drainville, a staunch supporter of secularism who drafted the bill.
Ban on face veil for studentsThe legislation would also prohibit Muslim girls from wearing a full face veil. The bill’s explanatory notes says students will be obliged to “have their face uncovered when they are on the premises placed at the disposal of a school, a vocational training centre or adult education centre or a private educational institution.”
The same rule on face coverings would apply to parents picking up their children from school.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many students and staff would be affected by these changes. Drainville said he didn’t know how many students or staff would be affected by the ban but that it was the “principal, not just the number.”
A recent report found problems maintaining a secular environment at 17 schools. The report cited one instance where a student was wearing a full face veil.
The legislation includes a provision that would require teachers to be subjected to an annual review.
The explanatory notes say teachers will be obliged to “submit instructional planning to the principal of the institution and the obligation for the principal to evaluate teachers each year.”
