Religious symbols in daycares: Unions raise concerns
Posted August 29, 2025 5:18 pm.
No bill has yet been tabled to ban subsidized daycare educators from wearing religious symbols, but unions representing those workers say they are concerned.
The Rousseau-Pelchat committee, tasked with reviewing compliance with Quebec’s secularism law, recommended such a measure in a report released Tuesday.
On Thursday, the government said it plans to eventually table legislation to strengthen secularism. But it is not yet clear if it will be limited to banning street prayers, or if it will also cover the wearing of religious symbols by workers in subsidized daycare centres.
In an interview Friday, Anne-Marie Bellerose, president of the Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ), which is affiliated with the CSQ, said she is worried but will wait to see the details of the bill.
She noted that the daycare network is already facing a labour shortage, with CEGEP early childhood education programs reporting declining enrolment.
“In the context of a labour shortage, we have a lot of questions about the impact on jobs in CPEs (Centres de la petite enfance),” Bellerose said. “But it all depends on what the bill will actually include.”
So far, the government has floated the idea of a “grandfather clause” that would allow current employees who wear religious symbols to keep their jobs.
But Bellerose pointed out that even with such a clause, the daycare network faces significant staff turnover.
“There’s a lot of hiring in this sector. Would that be enough?” she asked.
“We’re inviting the government to think carefully about its decisions, and above all, to make sure that, in a time of labour shortage, the measures they take don’t have long-term consequences for the network,” she added.
The FIPEQ represents more than 12,000 workers in daycare services.
The Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, affiliated with the CSN and also representing daycare workers, said it will wait until a bill is tabled before commenting.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
