Supreme Court hearings on Quebec secularism law to begin March 23

MONTREAL — Hearings for one of the most highly anticipated Supreme Court of Canada cases in years are scheduled to begin March 23.

The country’s top court has set aside five days for arguments on Quebec’s 2019 secularism law, which prohibits public sector workers considered in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job.

The law, known as Bill 21, is shielded from many constitutional challenges because it pre-emptively invokes a section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allows a federal or provincial legislature to temporarily override certain rights.

One of the many interveners in the case is the government of Canada, which wants the court to set limits around how provincial governments can override basic rights using what is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause of the Charter.

Bill 21’s critics say it violates the right to freedom of expression and religion, but the Quebec government says the law is essential to preserving the Québécois peoples’ values of secularism and equality between men and women.

The outcome of the Supreme Court hearings will likely set major precedents across the country, notably on minority rights and on governments’ use of the notwithstanding clause.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2025.