Quebec Premier François Legault says school board wrong to hire teacher who wore hijab
Global News
Legault said the province's secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been in place since June 2019 and the school board should have respected it when hiring the Grade 3 teacher.
Premier François Legault says a school board in western Quebec should not have hired a teacher who wore a hijab.
Legault told reporters today in Quebec City the province’s secularism law, known as Bill 21, has been in place since June 2019 and the Western Quebec School Board should have respected it when hiring.
READ MORE: Quebec elementary school teacher reassigned from class over hijab due to Bill 21
It emerged this week that a Grade 3 teacher at Chelsea Elementary School, just north of Gatineau, Que., had recently been reassigned to duties outside the classroom because she wore a hijab.
Bill 21 prohibits the wearing of religious symbols such as hijabs, kippas and turbans by teachers and other government employees deemed to be in positions of authority.
READ MORE: Quebec teacher’s removal for wearing hijab a ‘cowardly’ move, minister says
The teacher was moved into a different job, a literacy project that will focus on inclusion and awareness of diversity.
Certain provisions in the secularism law are subject to legal challenges, but courts have ruled it must be applied in the interim.