Education Minister Joël Arseneau says banning children from wearing symbols of their faith in school is what his party was elected to do. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)
The English Speaking Catholic Council (ESCC) strongly opposes the Parti Québécois government’s proposed legislation to prohibit elementary school students from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, including hijabs, kippahs, turbans, crosses, and other visible expressions of faith in Quebec’s public schools.
While Quebec has long engaged in thoughtful discussions regarding secularism and the role of religion in public institutions, this proposal crosses a troubling line by targeting children. It shifts the debate from state neutrality to the regulation of personal religious expression among some of Quebec’s youngest citizens.
The ESCC believes this measure is unnecessary, divisive, and fundamentally inconsistent with the values of freedom, inclusion, and respect that should underpin our educational system.