Montreal school board brings Bill 21 challenge to Supreme Court

The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) is taking its challenge of Quebec's secularism law to the Supreme Court of Canada.

"We have always maintained that Bill 21 violates the rights of Quebec citizens," said Joe Ortona, chair of the EMSB.

"It discriminates against people of religious minorities. It hinders their opportunities to teach within our system. And it disproportionately targets, of all the groups, Muslim women."

The EMSB voted to take its challenge to the Supreme Court in a special meeting Wednesday.

Back in February, the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the province's controversial secularism law in a ruling on challenges to the law's constitutionality.

The judgment quashed a previous exception, made by Superior Court Judge Marc-André Blanchard, that allowed English schools to employ teachers wearing religious symbols — such as a head covering — while on the job.

A panel of Appeal Court judges heard arguments from civil liberties groups challenging the law, as well as from the government, in November 2022.

Premier François Legault's government had appealed the Superior Court decision, rendered in April 2021, that upheld most of the law but made the exception for English schools.

His government had said the exception created an unfair distinction between francophone and anglophone schools.

In a summary of their decision, the Appeal Court justices Manon Savard, Yves-Marie Morrissette et Marie-France Bich, said the law does not go against "the unwritten principles of the Constitution, nor the constitutional architecture, nor any pre-Confederation law or principle having constitutional value."

During the meeting Wednesday, commissioners were overwhelmingly on the side of taking the case to the Supreme Court — although two commissioners did express concerns about how much has been spent so far on the legal fight, $1.3 million.

Several other groups, like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Council of Canadian Muslims, have also challenged the law's constitutionality.

Securalism law 'fundamental' value for Quebec: minister

Addressing reporters at the National Assembly on Thursday, Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette said the province is willing to defend its secularism law "all the way to the end, all the way to the Supreme Court" if needed.

Jolin-Barrette said the separation of religion and state has been entrenched in Quebec for a long time.

"It's one of the fundamental values for Quebec society," he said. 

"We will be very clear about that and we will never make compromises about that."

Jolin-Barrette also had a message for the federal government.

In 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would consider intervening in the court case against Bill 21 if it reached the Supreme Court, prompting strong public criticism from Premier Legault.

In light of the EMSB's decision, Jolin-Barrette was asked about the possibility of the federal government voicing its opposition to the law in court.

"I suggest the federal government mind its own business," the justice minister said.

"It's a Quebec file. It's a file that was settled at the province's National Assembly and Mr. Trudeau's government should show respect for Quebecers."

Jolin-Barrette also said the EMSB's decision raises questions about a school board's use of public funds for such a legal challenge.

Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Paradis and Québec Solidaire MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard both said the EMSB is well within its right to challenge the Court of Appeal's ruling. The two MNAs are their respective parties' justice critics.

"It was always clear that that bill was going to the Supreme Court," said Cliche-Rivard. "The question was when." 

"Let's face it: They won't be the only ones to challenge it."