Viewpoint: Progressive or regressive – Quebec’s Bill 62

By Max Nease

Quebec’s Bill 62 has been one of Canada’s most hotly debated pieces of legislation in years. The law, passed by the Quebec legislature last month, requires the removal of face coverings in order to gain access to various public services in Quebec, such as public transit and health care.

Aiming to create religious neutrality in Quebec’s public services, Bill 62 has been inherently racist since it was tabled in June 2015. After the law’s passing in October, discussions regarding the rights of face-covering Muslim women have been heating up. Bill 62 is being debated by individuals across all levels of government, and even Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson recently slammed the Quebec law.

Watson sent an open letter to Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard condemning Bill 62 as “regressive”.  And Watson made clear that the law will be ignored on OC Transpo buses crossing the border from Ottawa to Gatineau.

A legal challenge has been filed against Bill 62 in Quebec’s Superior Court. The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association are claiming the face-covering ban is unconstitutional, an infringement on the religious rights of Muslims.

Even in the few weeks since the bill passed, the Quebec government has made several clumsy attempts to clarify the intent of the law, but confusion remains. Despite the government’s numerous attempts to spin Bill 62 as one promoting transparency and communication in Quebec’s public sector, it is clearly rooted in religious targeting and racism.

No other group is so obviously singled out by Bill 62, suggesting Muslim women are the targeted demographic. So how did a law enforcing rules about certain articles of clothing for a specific gender and specific religion even come to pass?

Simply put, fear and Islamophobia.

It is no secret that there has been a global increase in both domestic and international terrorism — principally perpetrated by Islamist extremists — in recent years. This has left countries in disarray on how to best combat such attacks, and Canada is no different.

U.S. President Donald Trump has infamously tried to impose a travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, barring certain nationalities from entering the United States. This solution was immediately met with resistance from some segments of the American public, with critics citing the fundamentally racist intent of Trump’s executive order, and the firestorm around Bill 62 has echoed that debate.

While Canada’s government has not attempted to introduce legislation banning Muslim immigrants from entering the country, Bill 62 is a worrisome step towards outright racial discrimination within Canada’s second most populated province.

So, Canada finds itself at a crossroads. For a country that is so proud of its multiculturalism, Bill 62 has split Quebec from the broader Canadian ideology of inclusiveness. Banning a religious article of clothing, especially one that has been present and accepted in Canada for so long, does not look good on Quebec, nor on Canada as a whole.

Allowing this law to stand isn’t only harmful to Canada’s global image, but is teaching future generations not to trust some people due to their religion and race.