CP NewsAlert: Quebec to expand religious symbol ban, force students to uncover faces

By Canadian Press on March 20, 2025.

MONTREAL — The Quebec government has tabled a bill that would expand the province’s religious symbols ban to school staff beyond teachers.

The bill would update Quebec’s Education Act to also require students and staff to have their faces uncovered at school.

It would require teachers to submit educational plans to school principals, who would have to evaluate teachers annually.

The bill would expand the requirement for employees at French-language schools to speak only in French with students and staff.

Education Minister Bernard Drainville has for months promised legislation to strengthen secularism in schools following a controversy over reports of religious practices at several of the province’s public schools.

Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, already prohibits public employees such as teachers and police officers from wearing religious symbols on the job.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 20, 2025.

The Canadian Press

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