Act respecting the laicity of the State

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An Act respecting the laicity of the State Loi sur la laïcité de l'État
National Assembly of Quebec
Citation	An Act respecting the laicity of the State, CQLR c L-0.3
Passed by	Parliament of Quebec
Passed	June 16, 2019
Royal assent	June 16, 2019
Effective	June 16, 2019
Legislative history
Bill title	Bill 21, 1st Session, 42nd Legislature
Introduced by	Simon Jolin-Barrette, Minister of Immigration, Diversity and Inclusiveness
Status: In force

The Act respecting the laicity of the State (French: Loi sur la laïcité de l'État), introduced and commonly referred to as Bill 21 or Law 21, is a statute passed by the National Assembly of Quebec in 2019 which asserts that Quebec is a lay state (secular state). It prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by certain public employees in positions of authority and grandfathers in those who were already in office when the bill was introduced. The statute operates despite the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms,^{[1]: s. 33} and also notwithstanding certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.^{[1]: s. 34}

On April 20, 2021, the Superior Court of Quebec upheld most of the law, despite stating that the law violates the freedom of expression and religion of religious minorities (especially Muslim women),^[2][3] because the National Assembly invoked the notwithstanding clause. However, the court did rule that the law was inoperative with respect to English-language school boards and members of the National Assembly as it infringed on their constitutional rights,^[4][5] which argues that minority language rights cannot be overridden by the notwithstanding clause.^[2] The Government of Quebec appealed the judgment to the Quebec Court of Appeal.^[6] The Autonomous Federation of Education also decided to bring the case to the higher court.^[7] English-language school boards must apply the statute until the appeal is decided; an interlocutory application to temporarily exempt the school boards from it was rejected by the Quebec Court of Appeal in November 2021.^[8]

While the statute is supported by most of Quebec's population, some argue that it does not go far enough and should extend to daycares, while others argue that the statute is discriminatory against religious groups like Muslims, Jews, and Sikhs. Disapproval of the statute is more widespread in English Canada than in French Canada.