In Quebec, discrimination against people of faith is not only real but is mandated by the government.
The Canadian province’s Bill 21 has been the subject of a lot of controversies. The law bans all public employees in the province, including teachers, from wearing religious symbols at work. That includes the crucifix, kippahs, turbans, hijabs, and more.
It’s part of Quebec’s secularist approach to governance, and it’s a gross violation of religious freedom and a reminder of why Americans should be thankful to have freedom of religion.
The law is a blatant form of discrimination against people of faith. Whether someone is Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, or practices a different religion, he or she should have the right to practice that faith how he or she sees fit as long as it is not hurting other people.
The law also limits the economic opportunity of devoutly religious people. It means they have fewer job opportunities and are being blocked out of well-paying jobs. In Quebec, public-sector employees typically make 9.2% more than private-sector employees for the same work, and those public-sector employees receive better nonmonetary benefits, according to CTV News.
The government is even hurting itself by limiting who will apply for government positions. It may be passing over better workers who could make the government operate more efficiently.
Left-wing National Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh rightly condemned the bill. Singh, a Sikh who wears a turban, said he would support challenging the law in court because he correctly views it as discrimination. Meanwhile, Liberal Party Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he personally opposes the law but doesn’t think the Canadian federal government should intervene for now.
Such laws may not find support in the United States, but that hasn’t stopped some lawmakers from trying to pass them. There is a fringe in the Republican Party that tries to use Islamophobia for political gain, but a somewhat recent attempt to violate religious freedom from one of these people went nowhere.
Five years ago, a Republican state representative from Georgia named Jason Spencer proposed a bill to ban Muslim women from wearing burqas and veils while driving or when having their driver’s license photos taken. He withdrew the bill after receiving sharp backlash. Presumably, his district faced greater problems than trying to prevent a tiny fraction of the population from driving.
Meanwhile, Congress did the right thing when it voted in early 2019 to allow people of faith to wear head coverings. Congress did it to accommodate Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat. Regardless of how one feels about her politics, it’s great that we live in a country that respects the right of public officials to practice their faith.
Society should accept people of faith, not reject them. What Quebec is doing deserves condemnation from across the world. As Americans, we should also take a moment to appreciate that we live on the other side of the border where a law like Bill 21 is a fringe idea.
Tom Joyce (@TomJoyceSports) is a political reporter for the New Boston Post in Massachusetts. He is also a freelance writer who has been published in USA Today, the Boston Globe, Newsday, ESPN, the Detroit Free Press, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Federalist, and a number of other outlets.
