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The Quebec government plans to take a number of measures to expand rules on secularism in public institutions, including a ban on prayer rooms at universities and CEGEP, as well as restrictions on the offering of religious food.
Radio-Canada has confirmed the contents of the new provincial bill expected to be introduced Thursday, as first reported by TVA and Montreal Magazine.
The government is seeking to ban religious symbols from government communications.
The bill also seeks to prohibit government agencies from offering diets based solely on religious traditions and would expand the disclosure requirement at public and subsidized day care centers.
The government also wants to ban religious practices in all public institutions, including prayer rooms at universities and CEGEP, with some exceptions for residential premises.
The bill would also ban public prayer, with exceptions provided under certain conditions.
Bill 21, passed by the Quebec government in 2019, is a law that strengthens government secularism by banning some public servants from wearing religious symbols on the job.
The law applies to teachers, police officers, judges and others in positions of authority. This includes items such as hijabs, kippahs, turbans and crosses. The law also prohibits people in these positions from wearing coverings that conceal their identity, except for medical reasons.
In October, the Quebec government passed Bill 94, extending the province's ban on religious symbols to anyone interacting with students in schools. The law also prohibits students from wearing face coverings.
The new bill, expected to be introduced on Thursday, would also ban religious symbols by employees of public and subsidized kindergartens, with some exceptions.
Back in August the committee recommended 50 changes to a law aimed at strengthening secularism in the province.
