Quebec students feel there's 'no future' for them due to religious symbols law, study suggests

A new study looking into how university students feel about Quebec's religious symbols law is painting a bleak picture, with many saying they've lost faith in the province and plan to leave.

The study, completed by researchers from two Montreal-based universities, asked post-secondary students, recent graduates and prospective students about their feelings on Bill 21. 

The bill, also known as Quebec's Laicity Act, became law in June 2019. It banned some civil servants, including teachers, police officers and government prosecutors, from wearing religious symbols at work within the province.

The study acknowledged the sample size is "relatively small" — 629 respondents, polled from Oct. 2020 through to Nov. 2021 — and has a "strong possibility of selection bias," as those who feel more strongly about Bill 21 are more likely to have responded to the survey. 

However, the authors noted that respondents were "relatively diverse" and attended both French and English institutions from across the province. 

Only about 28 per cent of respondents said they wore some form of religious symbol.

"We were expecting a more balanced diversity of responses. We thought we would get more people in favour of the law," said Elizabeth Elbourne, an associate professor of history at McGill and one of the researchers behind the study.

"There's a really interesting generational gap. We were quite struck."

Respondents in Elbourne's study were invited to write-in additional comments. Many said they experienced increased racism since the law was introduced.

"I think that the bill — despite the fact that many people don't mean it this way — in practice, can give permission to discriminate," she said.

Over 34 per cent of respondents — including those who did not wear a religious symbol — reported experiencing increased discrimination since the law was passed. That number jumps to 56.5 per cent for those who do wear religious symbols.

"It used to happen to me occasionally. Now it happens almost every time I go out," said one Université de Montréal student who wears a hijab.

One McGill education student described seeing Bill 21 invoked in the classroom while on a work placement during their studies.

"[I] watched students and the teacher ridicule a Muslim girl for wearing a hijab. The teacher said with Bill 21, you can't dress like that," the respondent wrote. "The girl was mortified and silent and just 11 years old."