MONTREAL – Greenpeace Canada stands strong in opposition to Quebec’s Bill 21, as well as to the most recent statements and actions of Premier Legault in upholding this legislation and its consequences. Quebec’s Bill 21 is discriminatory and is a direct attack on Canadians’ religious freedoms and the freedom of expression because it excludes members of certain religious groups from participating in a range of important public institutions in Quebec. It, therefore, prevents these institutions from being a true reflection of the communities they are meant to serve.
Freedom of expression is a foundational principle of our constitutional democracy and no one should ever be forced to decide between their religious identity and their profession. As Canadians, we must be united to confront all forms of racism and bigotry including Islamophobia and xenophobia and that’s why Greenpeace Canada stands in strong opposition to this law.

Farrah Khan Greenpeace Canada’s deputy director said:
“Bill 21 is grounded in white supremacist ideology and is a blatant xenophobic attack against Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, and Christians who choose to express their identities. It is designed to target already minoritized communities, and thereby deepens divisiveness within Quebec and contributes to growing hate and violence against racialized communities. This appears to represent a broader strategy of Premier Legault to deny the existence of systemic racism, and to ensure that those who are different from the dominant culture do not belong in Quebec society.”
For more information, please contact:
Marie-Christine Fiset, Head of Media, Greenpeace Canada
mfiset@greenpeace.org
About the author
Marie-Christine Fiset
Canadian Government Challenged to Stop Defying United Nations Decision on Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction
An urgent request to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of RacialDiscrimination to intervene in recent human rights violations against Indigenous peoples in BC has been submitted by a coalition.

More from Greenpeace

Greenpeace. Deep sea mining: a concrete threat we need to shut down now
Greenpeace. July 9th 2023 is a turning point for the deep sea mining industry but also for everyone opposing this new extractive industry. We need to get

Greenpeace Smoke mirror: wildfires and climate (in)action
Greenpeace. The original version of this text was published in La Presse. Looking outside my window over the weekend, I could see that orange light

Deep sea mining: Protect the Oceans of the world
Spring is ending, summer is nearly here, and Action season is starting!

Greenpeace activists helping students learn about climate change
Greenpeace volunteers do incredible things from scaling buildings, hanging from bridges, and dropping banners from massive heights. Around the world, you’ll see them blocking environmental destruction at the source and holding politicians and corporations to account! They march in rallies, lobby their politicians, work with allies, run social media accounts, and talk to people every single day about the world’s injustices and what needs to be done to change course for a healthy future. Photo by Pixabay

Global Indigenous leaders gather in Montreal to call for Indigenous-led nature protection
At a press conference in Montreal’s Hotel10 during COP15, global Indigenous leaders from Brazil, Canada, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon and Indonesia gathered to call for nature protection that centres Indigenous rights and shifts power from industry to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. © Toma Iczkovits Greenpeace

Nature is for everyone—so is defending Her
© Pixabay – Pexels