Montreal, November 26, 2025 – The Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) strongly opposes the government’s decision to table yet another bill on laicity, Bill 9: An Act respecting the reinforcement of laicity in Québec, only weeks after adopting Bill 94. This rushed and repetitive legislative effort reveals a deliberate and misguided strategy: broadening the state’s interpretation of “laicity” to justify measures that restrict individual liberties, weaken diversity, and erode protections for minority communities. Instead of safeguarding neutrality, this government continues to distort laicity into a mechanism that narrows who fully belongs in Quebec society.
Bill 9, like those before it, was drafted without meaningful consultation, without demonstrating the necessity, and without regarding for the institutions and individuals it impacts. QESBA is particularly concerned by the government’s troubling orientation, in which laicity is invoked to regulate culture and religious expression in all education institutions across all levels. No government has the authority to impose legislation that infringes on human rights. It must be built collaboratively, anchored in legal obligations, and respectful of the multiculturalism that defines Quebec.
QESBA calls on the government to suspend further legislative action on this draft bill until the Supreme Court of Canada rules on the Bill 21 surrounding laicity to be heard in March 2026. Any government claiming to defend rights must first demonstrate restraint, transparency, and respect for the rule of law. Quebecers deserve nothing less, and we will not remain silent as laicity continues to be misused to exclude.
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