How a Montreal school reignited a debate over secularism and Bill 21 in Quebec

An investigation into a climate of fear at a Montreal primary school has reignited a debate about secularism in Quebec's education system, with the provincial government pledging to consider new measures to keep religion out of classrooms.

An investigation into a climate of fear at a Montreal primary school has reignited a debate about secularism in Quebec's education system, with the provincial government pledging to consider new measures to keep religion out of classrooms.

Quebec's education minister says the province's secularism law, known as Bill 21, was not being respected at the school and could be strengthened. His comments follow a report released earlier this month that found a group of teachers at Bedford school, many of North African descent, subjected children to physical and psychological violence. 

The issue has dominated Quebec headlines this week after the opposition Parti Québécois (PQ) labelled it "a case of Islamist infiltration" into the public school system, with the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government quickly following suit. 

But critics say the focus on religion is a red herring that distracts from the fact authorities let the situation at Bedford continue for years without taking action. 

On Tuesday, Quebec Premier François Legault made his first comments on the affair in a social media post, saying he was "very shocked" by the "attempt by a group of teachers to introduce Islamist religious concepts into a public school."

It was a shift in tone for his government, which had previously avoided linking the situation at Bedford to religion. 

The Education Department released its report on Bedford school on Oct. 11, the result of an investigation triggered by reporting last year from a Montreal radio station, which documented how a dominant clan of teachers imposed autocratic rule at the school.