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Québec plans to ban public prayers to bolster secularism, according to the Canadian Press.

Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge, who previously rejected multiculturalism, announced new legislation this fall. It's unclear if the notwithstanding clause, overriding Charter Rights for five years, will be invoked.

Premier Francois Legault suggested ending public prayer last year, citing the "notwithstanding clause" to protect against legal challenges and send a "clear message to Islamists."

On Thursday, Roberge called public prayers a "serious and sensitive issue" for Quebec, noting the government's "discomfort" with the "increasingly prevalent phenomenon."

“The Premier of Quebec has given me the mandate to strengthen secularism, and I am firmly committed to fulfilling this mandate diligently,” he said. Meanwhile, freedom advocates "strongly condemn" the proposed prayer ban.

In a demand letter to the Premier, constitutional lawyer Olivier Séguin contends a prayer ban would contradict the principles on which the secularism law is based: “(1) the religious neutrality of the State, (2) the equality of all citizens, and (3) freedom of religion.”

“Your approach to the situation,” stated Séguin, “suggests a militant, anti-religious and dogmatic conception of one of the healthiest and oldest practices that human beings have maintained in their relationships with their fellow human beings and with a higher power.”

Besides Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec, other parties are also considering initiatives to strengthen secularism in Quebec. Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon plans a “consultative referendum” for members to share views on secularism, including banning public prayer and religious symbols in schools.

“I believe that certain positions of the Parti Québécois must evolve in response to new realities affecting our ever-changing society,” Plamondon said in an August 27 statement.

Tensions are rising over Muslim prayers at anti-Israel demonstrations, like those outside Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica.

Last December 6, Legault stated, "The rise of street prayers is a serious and sensitive issue in Quebec," expressing the government's "unease with this growing phenomenon, particularly in Montreal."

“Seeing people on their knees in the streets, praying, I think we have to ask ourselves the question. I don’t think it’s something we should see.” 

Roberge indicated that the government's discussions on "several aspects of secularism" were "well advanced," referencing a recent committee report that included recommendations for strengthening secularism in Quebec.

The committee of two lawyers investigated public prayer and suggested municipal regulation over a complete ban. Their report aimed to balance Quebec's collective values with religious practices, ensuring no harm to public order.

The government is considering stricter secularism following 50 recommendations, which include extending the religious symbols ban to daycare workers and restricting religious accommodations. This builds on Bill 21, the 2019 law banning public sector civil servants and teachers from wearing religious symbols.

The province recently tabled Bill 84, promoting integration over multiculturalism, whereby immigrants must accept its social contract based on democracy, the French language, gender equality, and secularism.

"Multiculturalism no longer applies on Quebec soil, finally!" Roberge told reporters on May 28, adding Canadian multiculturalism will be relegated to the "dustbin of history."