CBC | Top Stories News
· collected 2026-09-05 · by Isaac Olson, Sarah Jesmer
How public institutions — like schools and the STM — are handling Quebec's new secularism law
Prayer rooms closed, new employee guidelines at places like schools and public transit agencies
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rooms → handle → schools
From university halls to garages in Montreal's Metro network, public institutions across Quebec are quietly locking prayer rooms and rewriting employee guidelines as the province’s expanded secularism law takes full effect.
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law → lock → effect
Law 9 significantly broadens the reach of Bill 21 and extends restrictions.
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Law → broaden → restrictions
The religious symbols ban passed into law in 2019 now applies to daycare staff and prayer spaces are now forbidden in places like university campuses, or the facilities of a transit agency like Montreal's Société de transport de Montréal.
But as institutions rush to comply with the changes, administrators and legal experts warn that the government has left them navigating a complex legal grey zone with few clear guidelines on how to actually enforce the rules.
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government → pass → rules
Law 9 took effect on Sept. 1.
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Law → take → Sept.
Prayer rooms closed, chapels can stay
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chapels → close → ?
Concordia University — which had a large prayer room, according to the Muslim Student Association — says it no longer has any places set aside for prayer.
uncertain
it → have → prayer
McGill University says it intends to comply with its legal obligations as well.
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it → say → obligations
Dawson College declined to comment.
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College → decline → ?
“All the signs have been taken down,” said Ezekiel Montoya Desjardins, the vice-president of external affairs at the Dawson Student Union, who managed the prayer rooms there.
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who → take → rooms
Signage and some furnishings, like carpeting, have been removed and the rooms are empty now.
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rooms → remove → carpeting
Montoya Desjardins said he understands the government’s position, but secularism doesn’t need to be defined as no religious activity.
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secularism → say → activity
“I think that it means there is neutrality in all religions at school,” he said, noting that the prayer rooms were mostly used by the Muslim community, but were open to everyone.
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rooms → think → everyone
As for Vanier College, Benoit Morin, the school’s director general, said the small prayer room has been locked since the start of August.
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room → say → August
A notice on the door says Muslim students can head across the street to a mosque to pray.
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students → say → mosque
While prayer rooms like that one close, religious practice in chapels, like the one at Université Laval, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s University, is allowed.
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practice → close → Laval
Vanier catching up with the law
Morin said the school is still working on two important steps included in the law.
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school → catch → law
The first is establishing a process whereby religious accommodations can be requested and determined by management, and initiating a complaints process as well.
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accommodations → establish → process
Before, students would ask professors for religious accommodations.
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students → ask → accommodations
Now that request will go up to Morin's office, for him or someone he delegates to decide.
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he → go → office
And when it comes to complaints about someone not operating in line with the multiple existing secularism laws, there needs to be a new, separate registry for Law 9 complaints that can be audited by the ministry, he said.
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he → come → ministry
The school also created new training for security guards to teach them about Law 9 and give warnings to people if they see something that isn't in line with the law, he said.
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he → create → law
Morin said the new measures are affecting Vanier's ability to teach students the importance of living peacefully together.
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measures → say → importance
“It was and still is fairly complex to determine the fine print as to how it should live within the walls of Vanier,” he said.
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he → determine → Vanier
“And we've been working hard throughout the summer to make sure that we can be compliant.”
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we → work → summer
The hope is schools like Vanier will be consulted more before such laws are adopted in the future as “it has a deep impact on communities that have been built over several years,” he said.
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he → consult → years
Daycare union keeping close eye on enforcement
The law also bars workers in subsidized daycares and private schools from wearing religious symbols.
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law → keep → symbols
A spokesperson for the federation representing health and social service workers is looking into the impact on its 13,000 daycare workers across 400 subsidized daycares.
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spokesperson → represent → daycares
In a statement, Lucie Longchamp, the spokesperson for the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux-CSN, said it has asked its member daycares to identify Law 9's impacts and the federation “will closely monitor developments in the coming weeks.”
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federation → say → weeks
She said the federation expects to hear about a breakdown of services, departures and hiring difficulties.
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federation → say → services
From there, the federation will have more to say on the matter.
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federation → have → matter
The spokesperson also said the FSSS-CSN will continue to “advocate for an open, pluralistic model of secularism that does not further jeopardize the provision of non-profit educational services.”
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that → say → services
STM closes prayer space, adjusts policies
Montreal's public transit agency is telling employees they can no longer pray on workplace property.
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they → close → property
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM) says it has four rooms that employees can use for silent activities such as meditation and yoga but can no longer be used for prayer.
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employees → say → prayer
The agency says signs have been posted outside the rooms to remind people of the ban, and said supervisors who witness religious practices should address the matter with the employee.
The STM union representing maintenance workers declined to comment.
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union → say → workers
Inside the transit network, musicians can still sing about their beliefs and wear whatever they want, but they can't "manifest any religious practice" or lead a worship service with music in the Metro.
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they → sing → Metro
STM spokesperson Amélie Régis said the agency’s special constables, with new training, will be intervening if any Metro performers are praying or evangelizing.
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performers → say → training
Groups like Jehovah's Witnesses will still be allowed to operate, even talking to people about their beliefs.
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Groups → allow → beliefs
Since they aren’t forcing their beliefs on people, but instead waiting to be engaged by passersby, the STM isn’t going to prohibit the practice.
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STM → force → practice
“It is our understanding that discussing a belief is not a religious practice,” she said.
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she → discuss → belief
…and 21 more, not listed.
