François Legault reacted sharply on Friday to the possibility that Ottawa would ask the Supreme Court to rule on the constitutionality of Bill 21, which was confirmed in a Quebec Court of Appeal ruling on Thursday.
Asked about the issue at a press conference on Friday, the Prime Minister recalled that the law on state secularism affects four groups of employees who are not allowed to wear religious symbols: prison guards, judges, police officers and teachers who teach children.
I think there is a consensus in Quebec that a majority of Quebecers support Bill 21. Therefore, I think it is a lack of respect on the part of the federal government to challenge Bill 21.
The Quebec Court of Appeal ruling on Thursday upheld the constitutionality of the State Secularism Act and upheld its application in English-speaking school boards.
Bill 21, passed in June 2019, has been causing controversy in both Quebec and the other Canadian provinces for almost five years. In particular, its opponents argue that it violates the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms.
English Montreal School Board (CSEM) president Joe Ortona said he was disappointed by Thursday's ruling. In the same breath, he admitted that an appeal was still being filed.
For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau explained if and when [cette question] If the case goes to the Supreme Court, the Liberal government will intervene.
Its Justice Minister Arif Virani has ordered that the debate over the constitutionality of the law on secularism of the State of Quebec becomes, in all its details, a national matter.
In Ottawa, the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party are also in favor of an appeal to the Supreme Court.