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The Challenges of a Secular Quebec

Bill 21 in Perspective

George Tombs translator François Rocher editor Lucia Ferretti editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:University of British Columbia Press

Published:15th Sep '23

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Challenges of a Secular Quebec cover

In 2019, the Quebec National Assembly passed Bill 21. It prohibits, among other things, certain state employees in positions of authority (including teachers, prison guards, police officers, and justices of the peace) from wearing religious symbols when providing public services. Many political commentators denounced the move as running counter to Canadian multiculturalism and human rights. Why did the government adopt this form of state secularism? And why did it garner public support? The Challenges of a Secular Quebec provides illuminating answers to these questions and explores why many Quebecers consider the law legitimate. Contributors analyze the statute from different angles to provide a nuanced, respectful discussion of its intentions and principles. Given the province’s singular history in North America, the merits of the initiative to separate church and state must be considered within the Quebec context. The Challenges of a Secular Quebec calls for a legal interpretation of Bill 21 that is sensitive to this difference.

ISBN: 9780774868426

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 600g

328 pages