A government led by Dominique Anglade would once again allow teachers to wear religious symbols. The secularism law would only apply to employees in a position of coercion.

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Ms. Anglade explains that her training had voted against Bill 21 for two reasons: the use of the derogatory clause and its application to teachers. “For the sake of consistency, if you voted against that, you say to yourself: remove it directly for teachers,” she explains in an interview with our Parliamentary Office.

"At some point, you take responsibility for yourself and you say to yourself: that's why we voted against it, so why do we continue to apply it? “, she continues.

The measure would take effect as soon as a possible Anglade government is elected.

So far, the Liberal leader has only proposed not to renew the derogation clause, which protects Law 21 from legal remedies, when it expires in 2024.

Ms Anglade said a decision on the future of the law would be made once it passed the court test. This position remains unchanged.

Bouchard-Taylor

Asked why she would keep the ban for the other professions covered by Bill 21, the liberal leader says she is sticking to the Bouchard-Taylor compromise.

“There is a consensus that has emerged in Quebec and I do not want to redo the debate. We are not going to redo the debate on it, ”she said, while specifying that the courts will have to demonstrate that the law respects the charters of rights.

During the reasonable accommodation crisis, commissioners Gérard Bouchard and Charles Taylor concluded that the ban on religious symbols should apply only to people in a position of coercion, namely judges, police officers, prosecutors and prison guards. The CAQ then added the teachers, arguing that this is a position of authority.

In 2019, before the arrival of Ms. Anglade at the head of the party, the liberal caucus had rejected the Bouchard-Taylor compromise, refusing to ban religious symbols among employees in positions of authority.

In recent months, Québec solidaire has also announced its intention to allow teachers to wear religious symbols.

The party is officially against any ban on religious symbols, but its intentions, once elected, have still not been announced.