Quebec Appeal Court Rules Secularism Law Is Constitutional, English Schools Rebuffed

Quebec Premier Francois Legault speaks at a news conference prior to question period, at the legislature in Quebec City, on Feb.22, 2024. The Canadian Press/Karoline Boucher

The Quebec Court of Appeal has ruled that the province’s secularism law is constitutional and overturned a lower court ruling that exempted English school boards from the law, known as Bill 21.

In a decision on Feb. 29, the province’s highest court upholds much of a 2021 Quebec Superior Court ruling, which said the law’s use of the notwithstanding clause overrode infringements of fundamental rights.