Nusaybah

Yesterday, CCLA joined the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and other groups at a press conference responding to the Quebec government’s plan to ban religious symbols for elementary school students. Our Quebec Spokesperson and Director of Fundamental Freedoms, Anaïs Bussières McNicoll, had a clear message for the government: “A 10-year-old girl should have the right to go to school. Period.” For more than seven years, Bills 21, 94 and 9 have pushed people out of public life because of their religion, with a disproportionate impact on Muslim women. Workers have lost their jobs, students have changed their career plans, and some parents can no longer volunteer at their children’s schools. Now the government wants to expand the ban to children in schools. Quebec’s school principals’ associations have said religious symbols are not an issue in schools and have warned that students could drop out. The government’s move is a solution in search of a problem, and it puts children’s fundamental right to education at risk. We are far from alone in this fight. Hundreds of civil society groups are mobilizing through the recently launched Coalition Against the Instrumentalization of Secularism in Quebec. Our work has only just begun, and we will continue to fight these discriminatory laws until everyone in Quebec can learn, work and take part in public life without having to choose between their personal faith and their rights. You can read our full statement here: ccla.org/press-release/ccla-…