Opposition demands end to funding of religious schools

Photo: Spencer Colby The Canadian Press “If we want to be consistent with this idea of ​​secularism, normally, we should not fund any private denominational school with public money,” said Ruba Ghazal.

Thomas Laberge – The Canadian Press in Quebec City

Published yesterday at 2:05 p.m. Updated yesterday at 7:10 p.m.

• Quebec City

While the Bedford School case, where teachers were creating a climate of terror, has brought the debate on secularism back to the forefront, the three oppositions in Quebec are calling for an end to funding religious schools in the province. The Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ), however, refuses to take this path.

During a debate in the Salon rouge on Wednesday, Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy said that her party's position had just changed. “We now believe that we must stop funding religious schools in Quebec,” she said.

“We must be the guarantors of secularism in our schools, whether they are public or private. We must also be the guarantors of the principle of equality between men and women, regardless of religious beliefs,” continued the elected official.

According to Solidarity MNA Ruba Ghazal, “if we want to be consistent with this idea of ​​secularism, we should not fund any private denominational schools with public money.”

In Quebec, about fifty religious schools receive $160 million per year in public money.

Earlier this week, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said that the Bedford case was one of “Islamist infiltration” and made a series of suggestions to the government to strengthen secularism in Quebec. In particular, he called for an end to subsidies to religious schools.

Paul St-Pierre Plamondon brought the subject back to the Salon rouge on Wednesday by questioning Premier François Legault. The latter avoided answering. He instead spoke about the change in position of the PQ leader on secularism.

Ruba Ghazal filed a motion calling on the “Quebec government to consider ending public funding for private denominational schools,” but it was rejected by the Coalition avenir Québec.

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On Sunday, on the show Tout le monde en parle, Education Minister Bernard Drainville said his government did not want to end funding for religious schools “for the time being,” but has not closed the door permanently.

Read also

• Drainville suspends teaching permits of 11 Bedford school teachers
• Wave of support for Liberal MP Marwah Rizqy

“Strengthening controls and secularism”

On Tuesday, in the wake of a devastating report on the Bedford school, François Legault mandated Bernard Drainville and the Minister of Secularism, Jean-François Roberge, to “examine all options” to “strengthen controls and secularism in schools.”

The Act respecting state secularism (nicknamed Bill 21), which was adopted in 2019 by the Legault government, prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by state employees in positions of authority such as police officers, judges and teachers.

Asked whether Bill 21 could apply to daycares, the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, said: “We will let the committee work, but I tell you that currently, it is well governed by the law on daycare services. Everything that concerns learning, admission, etc., is well regulated.”

The CAQ MNA for Montmorency, Jean-François Simard, stated that “secularism is an evolving issue.” “There is nothing static in politics, including secularism. We have taken a huge step forward and we will adjust,” he added.

Asked whether he feared new manifestations of racism with the resurgence of this debate, the Minister for the Fight against Racism, Christopher Skeete, said: “Racism and secularism are not related. […] A secular state must combat racism, but they are not connected.”

“Religious practices”

The report on Bedford School mentions “certain religious practices, such as prayers in classrooms or ablutions in communal toilets.” It states that, although “these practices were mostly not performed in front of students,” the evidence analyzed mentions “two events where students were allegedly involved in religious practices.”

It also states that “witnesses told investigators that they had observed a strong influence of the community environment on several members of the Bedford School staff. A number of them reportedly frequent a community center and a mosque located in the neighborhood.”

The report does, however, mention “that although the majority clan is mainly composed of people of Maghrebi origin, people of other origins are also associated with it. Also, the minority clan is also partly composed of individuals of Maghrebi origin, including some of the strongest opposition to the majority clan.”

It adds that “although there is indeed the presence of clans at the Bedford school composed of individuals of different origins, the investigators have mainly observed an opposition between ideologies.”

The document also reports “gaps in the teaching of oral communication, science and technology, ethics and religious culture and sex education.”