Montreal·UpdatedThe Quebec government wants to place limits on praying in public and extend a ban on wearing religious symbols to daycare workers as part of a new secularism bill tabled Thursday.CAQ government aims to further expand secularism rulesBenjamin Shingler · CBC News · Posted: Nov 27, 2025 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 11 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Jean-François Roberge, right, Quebec’s minister responsible for secularism, tabled a bill aimed at strengthening secularism on Thursday. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)The Quebec government wants to place limits on praying in public and extend a ban on wearing religious symbols to subsidized daycare workers as part of a new bill tabled Thursday.Bill 9, titled An Act respecting the reinforcement of laicity in Quebec, sets out to strengthen previous secularism laws passed under Premier François Legault.Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s minister responsible for secularism, said the bill builds on the government’s longstanding goal of ensuring the “religious neutrality of the state” and “equality for all citizens.””We think that when the state is neutral, Quebecers are free,” Roberge said at a news conference Thursday. Roberge denied that religious minorities were unfairly targeted with the latest legislation.”We have the same rules applying to everyone,” he said. Specific proposed changes include:Banning subsidized daycare and private school workers from wearing religious symbols, such as a hijab or kippa (with a clause exempting those already in their position).Prohibiting public institutions, such as hospitals, from only offering food based on a religious tradition, such as halal or kosher meals. Phasing out public subsidies for religious private schools that select students or staff based on religious affiliation, or that teach religious content.Banning group prayers in public institutions including universities, as well as in public spaces like roads and parks without municipal authorization.Prohibiting the use of religious symbols in communications by public institutions.Expanding the requirement to have an uncovered face at all times to anyone present in a public education setting.Repealing the Freedom of Worship Act, which set out to preserve the “free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference.” The bill also invokes the notwithstanding clause pre-emptively, shielding it from challenges under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The legislation is the latest tabled by Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government, which has been slumping in opinion polls ahead of next year’s provincial election.In October, the government adopted a law banning religious symbols worn by any school employee who interacts with a student.That law was itself an expansion of a 2019 law, known as Bill 21, that banned religious symbols worn by public employees deemed to be in positions of authority, including teachers, judges and police officers. The government also passed a bill earlier this year requiring immigrants to embrace the common culture of the province. WATCH | What’s in the new secularism law:Quebec tables new bill tightening secularism laws at National AssemblyQuebec has tabled new legislation, Bill 94, to further tighten the province’s secularism laws. The move follows an independent panel’s 50 recommendations aimed at expanding secularism and builds on Bill 21 by extending its measures to people who work face-to-face with students. The latest bill was criticized by religious groups and civil liberties advocates even before it was tabled as an attack on minorities for political gain. Stephen Brown, president of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said it amounts to “political opportunism” and serves as a distraction from other pressing issues, including a conflict with the province’s doctors and a shortage of affordable housing.”Unfortunately, once again, it’s the same group of minorities that are serving as the foil,” he said. In a statement, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec said the proposed bill would be a “radical infringement on the rights and freedoms of the Quebec population” and that “the government has not demonstrated the need for such legislation.”Maria English, executive director of a public daycare with five locations and more than 300 children, said the new rules for daycares would disproportionately target Muslim women and make it harder for her to find workers.”A religious symbol does not determine how you will be with the children, so it will take away some very nurturing educators,” English said.ABOUT THE AUTHORBenjamin Shingler is a reporter based in Montreal covering social issues and Quebec politics. He previously worked at The Canadian Press and the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal, and is an alumnus of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network.With files from Sarah Leavitt
Quebec tables bill limiting public prayer, extending religious symbols ban to daycare workers
