On June 16 the Coalition Avenir Québec government passed a law barring public workers in positions of authority from wearing any religious symbols, such as hijabs, crosses, yarmulkes and turbans, while working.
Bill 21 covers public school teachers, police officers and judges, but exempts other government employees and civil servants. Although no specific religion is mentioned, Canadian Muslims believe that the law is aimed at Muslim women wearing hijabs.
By the morning of June 17, the National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association had already been to the Quebec Superior Court seeking an injunction and urging that the law be declared invalid.
Policing religious garments is a form of bigotry which creates cultural misunderstanding and leads to the politics of fear.
Please sign my petition urging the government of Quebec to withdraw Bill 21.
"I think Bill 21 is a law that will do irreparable harm to communities in Quebec," he added.
