Prayer rooms are banned in public schools in Quebec — at least, for now. A judge on Wednesday morning denied the petitioners’ request for an immediate suspension and an order barring schools from making such rooms available to students before a hearing.
However, this challenge to the CAQ order is far from over: the request for a stay is only one step in the legal process. The case will now follow its course and eventually there will be a full hearing during which the constitutionality of the government action will be examined.
Opponents of the order will once again have the opportunity to argue that it is discriminatory and inconsistent with religious freedom, a fundamental right protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to the Canadian Muslim National Council (CNMC) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CLAC), which are leading the protest, the move disproportionately affects students of the Muslim faith because their prayers are “not peaceful or discreet. »
The case was argued Tuesday in a Montreal court before Superior Court Judge Lukas Kranošić.
In his ruling, the magistrate said he believed students who wanted to pray during school hours had suffered “irreparable harm” since the order was issued because of a violation of one of their fundamental rights. A sum of money. A 16-year-old Muslim boy explained in a confession that he had to hide in the grounds of his secondary school during lunch to pray.
The decree was adopted this spring because the CAQ government believes the existence of such campuses is incompatible with the Quebec state’s policy of secularism. Education Minister Bernard Trinville said at the time that school is not a place of prayer. The Montreal school where the teenager attends did not contest the request to suspend the order, choosing to “defer to justice”.
In his oral ruling, Judge Granosik said there was a “head-on conflict” between “prohibition of overt prayers and religious practices” when using public school space.
He recalled that the court should only intervene in “exceptional circumstances” to immediately stop a law or other government action. So the task was very difficult for the student and protest groups and they failed.
To obtain a requested suspension, there must be “genuine urgency” requiring the immediate intervention of a judge. Here, the magistrate saw nothing: two months passed before the groups appeared in court. Judge Kranoczyk also recalled that the school holidays would start in a few days. He hopes that students’ rights will not be violated this summer.
Courts must protect fundamental rights, he continues, but not modify or amend social policies, nor judge which actions can best serve the public good: this role belongs to elected officials, he recalls. And if judicial intervention is possible in clear cases of violation of rights, this is not one, he concludes. Hence after a hearing where all the evidence can be presented, the constitutionality of the ordinance should be examined in depth.
On Wednesday, Minister Trinville did not want to answer, saying, “The case is in the courts. »
If the ruling is not the one the ACLC wanted, “the court indicated that this ban on prayer in schools causes significant prejudice to religious students in Quebec,” underscores Harini Sivalingam, director of Equality Programs. . He promises to continue to protect their rights.
