CCLA is grateful for the support and pro bono contribution of our outstanding litigation team and their firm: David Grossman, Catherine McKenzie, Olga Redko, and Léa Charbonneau (IMK LLP).
Suspending Bill 21 is an urgent matter.
We were before the Quebec Court of Appeal late November 2019 arguing for a temporary suspension of Bill 21 until the courts can decide on the law’s constitutionality. We outlined the various harms that the religious symbols ban has already caused, and on that basis, asked the court for an urgent remedy.
On December 12, 2019, we received the Court’s decision, and it was devastating. Two out of the three judges denied our request for suspension: the law stays in place. One of the judges would have suspended the law. And all three Justices agreed that there are harms being caused to Quebecers who wear religious symbols. One of the Justices even said it is “apparent that their fundamental rights are being violated,” particularly the rights of Muslim women who wear the hijab.
“Our unwavering resolve to keep fighting for marginalized people in Canada, and our commitment to justice and equality, are why we urge everyone to stand together against the religious symbols ban. We can and must defeat this law,“ – Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, CCLA’s Director of Equality
