The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) expresses its deep concern and firm opposition to the Quebec government’s proposed legislation seeking to prohibit prayer and faith-based spaces in postsecondary educational institutions.
Prayer and reflection spaces serve an important role on campuses across Quebec. For many students, these spaces provide a quiet, respectful environment to practice their beliefs, reflect, and maintain balance amid academic life. They respond to a real need within our diverse student community and have long existed on campuses without disrupting university activities. Restricting or eliminating these spaces would not solve any demonstrated problem. Instead, it risks limiting students’ ability to practice their beliefs in an organized and respectful way and undermines their right to exercise them.
Existing restrictions on religious attire for certain public servants already affect some students preparing for careers in the public sector. Increasing limitations on religious expression in postsecondary institutions compound our current serious concerns about access, fairness, and inclusion. This measure creates an exclusionary environment and unjustly stigmatizes many individuals within college and university communities, particularly members of religious and ethnic minorities and people of colour. Legislation like this overlooks the integral roles they play on our campuses and in Canadian society. We deeply value the diverse contributions they make to our school and to the communities in which they study, work, and live. Freedom of conscience and religion is a fundamental right protected under both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. Universities must remain places where diversity of thought, identity, and belief is respected.
The SSMU stands in solidarity with religious student groups and all students who rely on prayer and reflection spaces. We will continue to advocate for our community and defend our students’ rights, dignity, and ability to practice their beliefs safely on campus.
Signed
Legislative Council of the Students’ Society of McGill University.
