Quebec’s ‘niqab ban’ faces its first court challenge

Quebec’s face veil ban is facing its first constitutional challenge, filed by Muslim and civil liberties advocacy organizations and two women who wear the niqab on Tuesday in Montreal.

The recently passed law prohibiting anyone from covering their face while providing or receiving basic public services including health care, social assistance, or public transit, infringes on religious freedom and targets Muslim women, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said in a news conference on Tuesday.

“Under the guise of state religious neutrality, this unnecessary piece of legislation is emboldening Islamophobia and ugly identity politics in Quebec leading to the further marginalization of Quebec Muslims, many of whom are already feeling under siege,” said NCCM Executive Director Ihsaan Gardee.

Provincial politicians in Quebec say while the law targets face coverings, it doesn’t discriminate against any religious groups. They have framed the law as being about religious neutrality, identification, and proper communication between public service members and private citizens.

Fatima Ahmed, a McGill University student studying to be a teacher, is named as a plaintiff in the suit. Ahmed started wearing the hijab at the beginning of her teenaged years and received a niqab as a gift about a year ago.

She was excited to start wearing it, having always admired other women who did so as a symbol of their religious devotion, said the claim. No women in Ahmed’s immediate family wear the niqab, and her parents were initially opposed to her decision to wear it, concerned that it would draw negative reactions from the public, the claim noted.

While she’s comfortable removing her niqab briefly for identification purposes or medical reasons, Ahmed believes taking it off for other reasons contravenes her religious beliefs.

‘Intolerant Message’

Since the passage of the law, Ahmed’s daily life has become more difficult, according to the claim. She’s concerned the legislation will impact her ability to take the bus without having to remove her niqab, and has resorted to having her dad drive her around.

Ahmed has also started facing street harassment and abusive comments more often since the law was passed. She’s become so uncomfortable being outside on her own that she’s only been leaving home to go to classes, which she’s still able to attend because McGill University has said it will not enforce the ban.

The second plaintiff in the lawsuit, Marie-Michelle Lacoste, who now goes by the name Warda Naili, is a Muslim convert who started wearing the niqab in 2011. Naili said she’s never had issues communicating with others while wearing her niqab. She’s also willing to briefly remove it for ID or security purposes.

“It sends a message to intolerant people and tells them they’re right to think that way, harass and intimidate us,” said Naili at the press conference on Tuesday, wearing a teal niqab. “They can use that power just to crush us and make us do what they want us to do, to use their power against us.’

“When I will receive a service from someone who has intolerance, he will maybe abuse his power on me just to make me feel bad,” she said, adding that she’d already been bullied by strangers prior to the passage of the law.

‘Justified in democracy’

The law violates guarantees of religious freedom in both the Quebec Charter and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, advocacy groups argue.

“In essence, it forces [Muslim women] to make a false and improper choice between adhering to their beliefs and having the basic freedom to work, participate meaningfully in society and make any number of decisions or take any number of normal actions in the course of their everyday lives,” said the lawsuit.

Rights groups wants the courts to issue an interim suspension of the law while their case proceeds. A Quebec court could hear arguments over the proposed stay next week.

The Quebec government intends to fight the challenge and argues that the law is constitutional.

Justice Minister Stephanie Vallée did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told the Montreal Gazette that Bill 62 is “a law that respects the rights and freedoms guaranteed by our charters.”

“It’s a law that is justified in a free and democratic society like Quebec,” she said. “It’s a law adopted using the powers that are those of the government of Quebec. Yes, we will defend the bill.”