Quebec passes discriminatory law outlawing dastaar-wearing Sikhs from public sector jobs

Canada’s Quebec province passed a law this weekend past banning public sector employees in positions of authority from wearing ‘religious symbols’.

‘Bill 21: An Act respecting the laicity of the State’ bans anybody in a position of authority in the public sector from wearing religious symbols. This includes teachers and police officers and extends to include the Sikh dastaar (turban) as well as kakkars worn by Amritdhari (initiated) Sikhs. It also has serious consequences for people of other faiths, including Muslims and Jews.

If public institutions do not comply with the new rules, the Bill gives the government the power to impose sanctions on them.

These measures in Bill 21 were a promise by the province’s Coalition Avenir Quebec party, which won a majority of seats in the Quebec National Assembly and formed the provincial government following elections in October 2018.

The government was so intent on enacting the law as soon as possible that it delayed the provincial legislature’s summer holiday by two days to ensure it passed. Bill 21 was passed at 10.30pm on Sunday evening following over 12 hours of debate.

Those wearing a Sikh dastaar will be drastically affected by the bill, which will ban them from becoming public sector employees such as school teachers, police officers or government lawyers. While a grandfather clause exempts current employees, this will cease to apply if their role changes, effectively banning them from a promotion or transferring to a different school.

According to the World Sikh Organisation (WSO), there are approximately 15,000 Sikhs in Quebec; it is not clear just how many are in positions of employment directly affected by the Bill.

The passing of Bill 21 has sparked international outrage. The WSO, which has argued there was no evidence for the need of such a bill, said that the passing of the bill was ‘a sad day for Quebec and human rights.’

Jaskaran Sandhu, Executive Director of the WSO has already received reports of Sikhs being targeted in professions not specifically covered by Bill 21. He said: ‘In a world where everyone is trying to attract the best and brightest, Quebec’s CAQ [Coalition Avenir Quebec] is content in driving them away.’

Mukhbir Singh, the WSO’s President, pointed out that Quebec is the first jurisdiction in North America to impose a religious dress code.

Harjit Singh Sajjan, an Amritdhari minister in the federal government and former police officer, said ‘this kind of discrimination is unacceptable,’ adding that ‘all citizens should have the right to give back to their communities through professions like education and law enforcement.’

Simran Jeet Singh, Visiting Scholar at New York University, said that after having many conservations with Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and Christians in the Canadian province, ‘there may very well be a mass exodus of religious minorities from Quebec.’

On #Bill21 I know many people in Quebec share my sadness. Young ppl who dreamed of one day teaching kids or protecting their communities can no longer follow that dream. Bill 21 divides people when more than ever we need to come together. This law will hurt people & it's wrong.

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) June 19, 2019

Others are determined to fight. The Bill will face legal challenges in the near future as a result of the outrage its passage has caused. Last month, legal experts for the United Nations warned that the bill would contravene fundamental freedoms, and many have questioned its compatibility with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the case of the latter, the Quebec government anticipated such a legal challenge and has invoked a ‘notwithstanding clause’, exempting it for five years.

On Monday, just hours after the Bill was passed, education graduate and Vice President of the WSO in Quebec, Amrit Kaur, stood alongside the National Council of Canadian Muslims to launch a legal challenge. With the Civil Liberties Association they filed a motion in the Quebec Supreme Court for the law to be declared invalid.

Our VP Quebec, @amritkaur015, speaking about Quebec's discriminatory Bill 21 & how it will directly impact her

This is a violation of our human rights & we stand with @nccm and many others in taking every option available to us in challenging it#MonQuebecMonTurban pic.twitter.com/dQAN4CWAnX

— WSO (@WorldSikhOrg) June 19, 2019

The World Sikh Organisation said it ‘will work with community partners in Quebec to oppose this legislation with every means available to us. The fight against this secularism law will be a historic struggle that will have a permanent impact on human rights in Canada.’