Thread by @Steverukavina

BREAKING: Quebec Superior court decision upholds Quebec’s law banning religious symbols for some civil servants

Judge refuses to grant injunction suspending new law

Judge rejected argument that bill causes “irreparable harm” to people affected

Judges talks about affidavits submitted by people who wear religious symbols about how this law affects them

"The careful reading of these affidavits, which by and large are of the nature of opinion, for many of them are purely hypothetical and often speculative, leads the court to conclude that the plaintiffs have not demonstrated serious or irreparable harm"

"The hostile looks that some members of civil society would bring to bear on them and the hurtful words that two of the declarants claim to have been victims of are not the result of the adoption of the Act..."

"...given the short time elapsed between its adoption and the filing of this request, but are the result of deplorable drifts and incivility that the law also seeks to stem."

"Any law that aims to clamp down on a debate in society necessarily entails in its wake its share of new constraints and dissatisfaction."

"In the present case, a law aimed at establishing the secularity of
the State and to impose a code of conduct on those paid by the State must be held as a measure taken for the common good...."

"To defeat it in the name of individual interests, no matter how noble the intention behind the process, is to be decided on merit and not on a preliminary basis."

Important to note: this decision rejected a demand to suspend the law while it was debated on merits; that debate may yet happen in court

Reaction from Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, director of Canadian Civil Liberties Association: “It’s a very disappointing decision. It allows a discriminatory law to continue to operate while real people...

“...who are in jobs, who are worried about then, are unable to seek promotion. People who are looking for work in their chosen professions are unable to obtain work at this time. So it’s having a real impact on people and it’s all about what people can and can’t wear.”

Mendelsohn Aviv says CCLA will continue to fight this law “to the end”

Elizabeth Gosselin, press attaché for the minister Simon Jolin-Barrette, says government welcomes this decision "This confirms that the Law on State Secularism is applicable..."

"The Québec government is determined to defend the legitimacy of this law so that it continues to have full effect. A significant and representative majority of Quebeckers supports this law, which puts an end to a debate that has endured in Quebec for more than 11 years. "

Reaction from Mustafa Farooq, Executive Director of National Council of Canadian Muslims: “No one ever said that defending our civil liberties would be easy. We are reviewing the decision now, and are considering our options to appeal.”

B’nai Brith Canada releases statement after today’s court decision calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to speak out against bill 21

World Sikh Organization says it’s now planning to intervene in the case