Two organizations challenge Minister Drainville's directive in court
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) want the directive issued by Education Minister Bernard Drainville prohibiting the establishment of places of prayer in Quebec schools to be repealed. Because this ministerial directive violated the individual and religious freedoms of students, both organizations applied
to the Superior Court for a declaration of invalidity.
"Students have rights. They have the right to education and they also have the right to religious freedom. These rights are guaranteed to all students equally," said Harini Sivalingam, CCLA's Director of Equality. "This directive prevents students from exercising their rights."
For Stephen Brown, the executive director of the NCCM, the Quebec government is going too far in this matter. "In a democratic and secular country, no government should tell anyone, least of all children, how to pray," he argues.
"Our children should not have to face the government that meddles in their spiritual lives. We cannot allow the state to control our children in schools – a place where they should be learning and growing in a safe and supportive environment, regardless of their religious beliefs."
On April 19, 2023, Minister Drainville ruled that school service centres must ensure that each of the schools they administer is enforced "that no place is used, in fact or appearance, for religious practices such as overt prayers or other similar practices."
The two organizations challenging this directive deplore the fact that teachers and members of the administration in the various public schools are given a new task, that of "monitoring how children carry out a basic human right that is protected by the charter,
namely the right to practice one's faith".
Schools and classrooms, known as "places of safety and learning," are being transformed into places of "conflict
and discrimination," say NCCM spokespeople and CCLA.
Praying in secretAccording to the court filing, the lawsuit is filed on behalf of a 16-year-old student. A practicing Muslim since childhood, the young man prays several times a day, without following a specific schedule. However, in the summer of 2022, X – the name of this student cannot be revealed – "spends more time in the mosque, reads the Quran more attentively and deepens his faith". Since then, "prayer at a specific time of day has become an important part of his religious practice and an expression of the sincerity of his faith."
In September 2022, the Secondary 4 student systematically prays during lunch time, outside the school, "on the tennis court". In case of bad weather, he looks for a quiet place inside the school. In October, as X and a few other students recite their prayers at the tennis court, "a member of the security staff approaches the group and tells them that they are not allowed to pray at school." The group then asked the school administration to intervene. They are then asked to complete an "accommodation request form".
It is only in January 2023 that the school makes available to students "who have completed the accommodation request form in a "satisfactory" manner" a room. "The room made available to these students is a small gymnasium. A supervisor is present to control access to the gymnasium only to authorized students based on a list established by the school principal," the court documents say.
But on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, the principal of the school went to the gymnasium just before the beginning of the prayer and informed the students present "that they can no longer use this room to pray". Because of Minister Drainville's directive, "prayer is also prohibited in school, whether indoors or outdoors."
Since then, the lawsuit says, X continues to pray at school. "However, he prays secretly, either inside or outside" and wonders what sanctions he will receive if "he is found praying at school."
The two organizations that initiated this legal challenge deplore the discrimination against students who are practicing. The school and the government do not want "you to practice your religion," they write in the lawsuit that has been filed in Superior Court. "Your prayer is an affront to the values of our society. If you want to act in accordance with your beliefs, you have to hide or suffer the consequences." For CCLA and NCCM, "this is a humiliating message that grossly violates the dignity of the child."
to the Superior Court for a declaration of invalidity.
"Students have rights. They have the right to education and they also have the right to religious freedom. These rights are guaranteed to all students equally," said Harini Sivalingam, CCLA's Director of Equality. "This directive prevents students from exercising their rights."
For Stephen Brown, the executive director of the NCCM, the Quebec government is going too far in this matter. "In a democratic and secular country, no government should tell anyone, least of all children, how to pray," he argues.
"Our children should not have to face the government that meddles in their spiritual lives. We cannot allow the state to control our children in schools – a place where they should be learning and growing in a safe and supportive environment, regardless of their religious beliefs."
On April 19, 2023, Minister Drainville ruled that school service centres must ensure that each of the schools they administer is enforced "that no place is used, in fact or appearance, for religious practices such as overt prayers or other similar practices."
The two organizations challenging this directive deplore the fact that teachers and members of the administration in the various public schools are given a new task, that of "monitoring how children carry out a basic human right that is protected by the charter,
namely the right to practice one's faith".
Schools and classrooms, known as "places of safety and learning," are being transformed into places of "conflict
and discrimination," say NCCM spokespeople and CCLA.
Praying in secretAccording to the court filing, the lawsuit is filed on behalf of a 16-year-old student. A practicing Muslim since childhood, the young man prays several times a day, without following a specific schedule. However, in the summer of 2022, X – the name of this student cannot be revealed – "spends more time in the mosque, reads the Quran more attentively and deepens his faith". Since then, "prayer at a specific time of day has become an important part of his religious practice and an expression of the sincerity of his faith."
In September 2022, the Secondary 4 student systematically prays during lunch time, outside the school, "on the tennis court". In case of bad weather, he looks for a quiet place inside the school. In October, as X and a few other students recite their prayers at the tennis court, "a member of the security staff approaches the group and tells them that they are not allowed to pray at school." The group then asked the school administration to intervene. They are then asked to complete an "accommodation request form".
It is only in January 2023 that the school makes available to students "who have completed the accommodation request form in a "satisfactory" manner" a room. "The room made available to these students is a small gymnasium. A supervisor is present to control access to the gymnasium only to authorized students based on a list established by the school principal," the court documents say.
But on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, the principal of the school went to the gymnasium just before the beginning of the prayer and informed the students present "that they can no longer use this room to pray". Because of Minister Drainville's directive, "prayer is also prohibited in school, whether indoors or outdoors."
Since then, the lawsuit says, X continues to pray at school. "However, he prays secretly, either inside or outside" and wonders what sanctions he will receive if "he is found praying at school."
The two organizations that initiated this legal challenge deplore the discrimination against students who are practicing. The school and the government do not want "you to practice your religion," they write in the lawsuit that has been filed in Superior Court. "Your prayer is an affront to the values of our society. If you want to act in accordance with your beliefs, you have to hide or suffer the consequences." For CCLA and NCCM, "this is a humiliating message that grossly violates the dignity of the child."