Quebec bill would force students to uncover faces
In the “oh for fuck sake” stakes Thursday is news that Quebec plans a bill that would stop school support workers from wearing religious symbols and force students to uncover their faces.
Some women providing extended care to kids before and after school hours wear hijab. They will have to uncover their heads or be fired, possibly compromising that service to busy families.
How many students actually wear full face‑covering niqab in public schools? “Drainville said he didn’t know how many students or staff would be affected by the ban but that it was the ‘principal [sic], not just the number.’ ”
There’s nothing else going on in Quebec or in the world that needs attention, obviously, more than legislating over how an unknown (but very tiny if existent at all) number of children cover their faces at school.
Joey 13:38 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
Additionally, the measures will make it harder (impossible?) to accommodate students’ religious needs – so observant Muslim and Jewish kids will either get the pork snack or nothing, they’ll have to beg for time off to worship their religion, since only Christian festivals conveniently occur on statutory holidays. Really nasty, petty shit.
Kate 13:51 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
During the Reconquista in Iberia, one of the tricks available to the Catholic church was to offer a tray of cold ham at the door of the church. Everyone had to take a piece and eat it before going in, presumably because this would prove they were no longer keeping kosher or halal on the sly.
Do we have to reproduce this medieval witch hunting in Quebec in 2025?
Kevin 13:55 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
From the video he put out Monday it seems like Drainville worshipped all his teachers and expects everyone does the same.
So at least his secular movement kinda makes sense except it shows a complete lack of understanding of 95% of humanity.
EmilyG 14:01 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
From the article: “The same rule on face coverings would apply to parents picking up their children from school.” Just, WTF.
Joey 14:34 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
@EmilyG I wonder if CBC got it wrong. The press release, which has quite a bit of details, doesn’t mention that – it specifically says the ban on face coverings applies to students and personnel, but it doesn’t mention parents. See here: https://www.newswire.ca/fr/news-releases/laicite-dans-les-ecoles-du-quebec-le-ministre-drainville-depose-son-projet-de-loi-une-reponse-forte-pour-renforcer-les-valeurs-quebecoises-877450047.html
jeather 14:50 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
No religious celebrations, I guess we’re all lucky that Christmas is zero religious. (Do schools do Easter things?)
I’m not sure the unions will agree to “only allowed to speak French when speaking to another teacher any time on school property”. (What happens for second language teachers who are making lesson plans etc together?)
dhomas 15:04 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
@jeather: my kids’ school does “Easter things”, but it’s mostly Easter Bunny and egg hunt kind of stuff. Not explicitly religious. They do get both Good Friday and Easter Monday off (I only get one of the other).
jeather 15:21 on 2025-03-20 Permalink
Not explicitly religious my ass. (I know the government pretends that Christmas and, apparently, Easter are secular.)
Mozai 10:20 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
Does the unmasking include health/safety gear during flu season, or if the kid is sick and can’t miss classes? The “thou must not cover your face in public” bylaws from years ago sounded silly to me for a city that experiences winter.
dhomas 10:28 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
@jeather: I mean the Easter stuff they do is not about Jesus’ resurrection kinda religious. The simple fact that Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays is religious enough. Students who are not Catholic need to miss school for their holy days.
jeather 11:14 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
Yes, I understand that they do not reenact the stations of the cross or whatever, but it’s not like the Easter Bunny is religion neutral. (There is a much better argument — which I absolutely reject, but which does exist — that Christmas is secular. There is no real argument for Easter.)
I had a bunch of issues with missing school for Jewish holidays, and we’re secular enough that I only missed the three.
Meezly 12:26 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
An argument can be made that the Easter Bunny originated as a Dutch and German cultural tradition, similar to how yuletide and Santa Claus are associated with Christmas but not have any Christian context.
https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2016/04/ostara-and-the-hare/
Plenty of people celebrate Easter and Christmas in a secular fashion, myself included. Is it necessary to restrict existing cultural or religious traditions just because an inhumane government wants to make life more difficult for people who don’t fit cultural “norms” or follow a different faith?
Joey 12:39 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
I’m Jewish, but if I were Christian, I would take offence to the notion that the two biggest holidays in my calendar aren’t religious in nature.
jeather 14:19 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
Yes, many things were incorporated into Christian celebrations to encourage local populations to convert. We’re well past the point where you can debate this.
And I absolutely support you celebrating these things however you want, in any way you like, outside of in public schools which are claiming to be completely secular.
walkerp 15:17 on 2025-03-21 Permalink
This is so fucked. As far as I have seen, the majority of service de garde staff are women from Muslim countries who wear a headscarf. They perform an essential service, are underpaid and under-staffed and now we want to restrict it even more?
Uatu 07:48 on 2025-03-22 Permalink
Quebec has one of the lowest highschool graduation rates in Canada. At least this will ensure dropouts abandon a completely secular environment lol
Drainville is such an ineffective clod.