Trudeau open to fighting Quebec law that cost hijab-wearing teacher her job
CTV
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has not 'closed the door' on legal action against a Quebec law that cost a teacher her job last week because of her hijab, his office said on Friday.
A Grade 3 teacher in Chelsea, Quebec was transferred to a different position under a Quebec law that forbids public sector employees in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols, Wayne Daly, interim chair of the Western Quebec School Board, told Reuters.
He has been inundated with phone calls and emails since, he said - the vast majority opposing the move. In a hand-drawn card posted online by human rights advocate Amira Elghawaby, a Grade 3 student decried the transfer as "not fair."
The mostly French-speaking province of Quebec enacted the law in 2019 ostensibly to maintain "laicite" - secularism - in its public service.
The bill, partially upheld by a Quebec court this spring, has been slammed for targeting Muslims, Sikhs and Jews. Federal party leaders demanded an apology during a September federal election debate after the moderator called it discriminatory.
