Following Muslim prayer displays in recent years, the government in Quebec, Canada, plans to consider banning all prayer in public places.
Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge said Thursday he will propose legislation to outlaw public prayer, The Globe and Mail reported.
Roberge said the government is uneasy with what he describes as a growing phenomenon of people praying in the streets, especially in Montreal.
"The premier of Quebec has given me the mandate to strengthen secularism, and I am determined to fulfill this mandate diligently," Roberge said, CBC reported.
"This fall, we will therefore introduce a bill to strengthen secularism in Quebec, in particular by banning street prayers."
Premier François Legault has said the government would not rule out using the notwithstanding clause, which allows a law to remain in effect despite conflicting with specific rights or legal rules.
"Seeing people praying in the streets, in public parks, is not something we want in Quebec," Legault said in December, saying he wanted to send a "very clear message to Islamists."
"When we want to pray, we go to a church, we go to a mosque, but not in public places. And yes, we will look at the means where we can act legally or otherwise."
Images of Muslims praying in Montreal made headlines last summer, and a viral video last month showing Muslims praying outside the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal was shared more than 14,000 times on X, CBC reported.
Other faiths also hold public events in Quebec. For example, the Catholic archbishop of Montreal leads a procession on Good Friday.
The nationalist Coalition Avenir Quebec government in recent months has attempted to reinforce secularism in the predominantly French-Canadian province.
Roberge’s announcement came days after an advisory committee recommended the government expand its secularism law to bar early childhood educators in the province's subsidized daycare network from wearing religious symbols.
The committee, though, did not recommend banning prayer in public. Instead, it suggested that the issue be left to individual municipalities.
The Quebec Legislature in May passed a bill requiring immigrants to embrace the province’s common culture, which includes gender equality, secularism, and protection of the French language.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.