The City of Pickering is contributing $10,000 to help in fighting a controversial bill that bans the wearing of religious symbols by civil servants in Quebec.
Pickering council voted during a recent meeting to help fight a multi-million-dollar legal challenge against Bill 21, a challenge brought by the National Council of Canadian Muslims, the World Sikh Organization and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
Under the bill, front line civil servants who showcase religious symbols while working can be sacked or reassigned.
The Council responded to a letter from Brampton Mayor, Patrick Brown that was part of the agenda.
Brown said: “You and I know that Bill 21 is the type of law that future Prime Ministers will be apologizing for and taxpayers will once again be on the hook for compensation.”
“It doesn’t have to be that way. It’s time to speak up.”
Mayor Dave Ryan requested that the item be included in the agenda and called the bill “a travesty, it’s contrary to everything that we stand for as a society and as a country.”
The Councillor of Ward 3 Shaheen Butt introduced a motion requesting that the City of Pickering find a means to provide $10,000 to fight the bill. Director of finance and treasurer Stan Karwowski revealed that the funds will be reflected in the 2022 grants budget.
The Town of Whitby contributed the same amount recently, and around $50,000 will be contributed by the Region of Durham in March. Durham council supported in principle the legal action against the discrimination of freedom of religion in Quebec’s Bill 21, and ordered staff to report back on ways the region could offer one-time funding not to exceed $50,000 in December.
In reference to the bill, the regional councillor of Ward 2, Bill McLean said: “I think it’s horrible what they’re doing and what they’re proposing.”
