Quebec may enact a new law banning some practises of a religious nature in important official and public circumstances.

Quebec may enact a new law banning some practises of a religious nature in important official and public circumstances.

The Province of Quebec is considering a law that restricts certain behaviours by persons who wish to hide their faces and identities from public view.  The new law prohibits all government employees in positions of authority — judges, police, educators in elementary and high school (plus anyone carrying a weapon, such as wildlife officers) — from wearing face coverings or visible religious symbols.  This law will mainly affect Muslims who wish to hide their faces and some others who wish to signify their personal religious affiliations in jobs where those matters should not be signified or stressed and should be irrelevant to their jobs.  As Ms. Kay states: The matter was settled by the European Court of Human rights (“the Court”), which found that the prohibition of face veil in important circumstances and situations did not violate the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court based its decision on a number of factors, including public security, and “protection of the rights and freedoms of others.”  In other words, major group rights, which are important to the maintenance of a democratic society and its values should not be swept aside by competing rights of a much less significant and important nature.

See the article by Barbara Kay at:  https://nationalpost.com/opinion/barbara-kay-what-the-anglo-media-misses-about-quebecs-religious-law