A Victoria councillor has asked the City to officially make a stand against Quebec’s controversial new religious symbols law, which bans public service employees from wearing religious symbols like turbans, hijabs and cross necklaces in the workplace.
Councillor Sharmarke Dubow has tabled a motion asking that the City of Victoria support the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and National Council of Canadian Muslisms (NCCM) who have initiated a constitutional challenge of the new law on grounds of religious freedom.
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“This legislation, although presented as promoting religious neutrality of the state, is a thinly veiled attack on religious and cultural traditions of religious minorities,” reads Dubow’s motion.
“It is contrary to Canadian values, which include freedom of religion and acceptance of diversity.”
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Quebec’s Bill 21, or An Act respecting the laicity, or the French concept of secularity of the State, went into effect on June 16th, 2019.
Victoria City Council will vote on Dubow’s motion on Thursday, July 11th.
I put forward this motion in order for our council to send a strong message that @CityOfVictoria will take a stand against discrimination and should pass the motion proposing support in principle to the @nccm and @cancivlib in their legal challenge against #Bill21 in #Quebec. 1/7 pic.twitter.com/77UnzEUeql
— Sharmarke Dubow (@deardubow) July 6, 2019
