Canada: Appeal filed on Quebec’s religious symbols ban

TRENTON, Canada

A court appeal to freeze part of Quebec’s new ban on the wearing of religious symbols by public servants has been filed, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) said Tuesday.

The action follows a ruling by a Quebec judge July 18 that it would be unusual for a court to rule against a law passed by elected politicians that they believe is in the public good.

The ruling was made as the courts consider if the law is legal under the constitution of Canada.

Bill 21 was enacted in June and forbids most public civil servants from wearing religious symbols while dealing with the public, including police, nurses, teachers and bus drivers.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault said most Quebecers want religion to be separate from the state and so are in favor of the law.

The appeal was filed Monday based on the argument that the law “seriously curtails the freedoms of Muslim women who wear the hijab, Jews who wear the kippa and Sikhs who wear turbans.”

“We promised Quebecers and Canadians that we would stand up for their rights and we intend to do exactly that,” said NCCM executive director Mustafa Farooq in a release. “We believe, as we always have, that this piece of legislation has no place being on the books in 2019.”

The NCCM and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association both brought the appeal.

“It is no longer acceptable to hang signs telling certain people they are not welcome in stores, beaches, parks or workplaces. A law that excludes people because of who they are and how they dress is both absurd and abhorrent – it has no place in a society that values justice, equality and freedom,” said civil liberties program director Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, in a release.

The Jewish group B’Nai Brith Canada and the World Sikh Organization have said they are considering joining the appeal.