Canada’s highest court has begun hearing arguments in a major constitutional challenge to Bill 21, with a Sikh teacher and several organizations arguing the legislation violates religious freedom and minority education rights. The case is being heard by the Supreme Court of Canada over multiple days and is expected to have long lasting implications for the country’s constitutional balance between secularism and individual rights.
One of the central figures in the case is Amrit Kaur, whose legal team told the court the law effectively ended her teaching career in Quebec before it began. Kaur graduated as a teacher the same day the legislation was adopted in 2019. Because she wears a turban and carries a kirpan, both articles of faith in Sikhism, she was forced to leave the province to continue her profession elsewhere.
The constitutional challenge is being led by the English Montreal School Board and supported by a coalition that includes the World Sikh Organization of Canada, a major teachers’ union and a group representing Jewish lawyers. Lawyers argued the religious symbols covered by the law are not simply personal accessories but expressions of deeply held identity and obligation. They also contend the legislation conflicts with religious freedom protections that predate Confederation and remain embedded within Canada’s constitutional framework.
During hearings, counsel for the English Montreal School Board argued the law interferes with minority language education rights protected under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The board maintains that hiring teachers who reflect the values and diversity of Quebec’s anglophone community is part of its constitutional authority. Although a lower court previously ruled Bill 21 should not apply to English school boards, that exemption was overturned by the Quebec Court of Appeal in 2024.
Other interveners told the court the legislation disproportionately affects Muslim women and limits participation in public service roles for individuals who wear religious symbols such as turbans, kippahs or visible faith markers. Representatives of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement warned that Quebec’s preemptive use of the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from certain Charter challenges signals a broader shift in how governments use constitutional override powers.
Defenders of the legislation, including the Government of Quebec and secularism advocacy groups, are expected to present arguments supporting the law later in the hearings. Attorneys general from several provinces and the federal government are also scheduled to intervene as the court considers whether Bill 21 oversteps constitutional limits or remains a valid expression of provincial authority.
