Introduction

Since 2010, there has been a noted increase in actions that seek to defend and contest religious rights. [...]these tendencies, often resonant at the local level, can also hold important sway when considering the large-scale regulation of religious diversity. On the one hand, parliamentary discussions were curtailed by government, which chose to limit representations by the public and interested parties at the time of hearings before the Commission of institutions (Commission des institutions);the parliamentary process was further truncated by the government’s decision to invoke closure of the bill, which ultimately resulted in incomplete discussion on the various articles (and amendments) contained in the legislative proposal. 8 On the other hand, the provincial government’s decision to employ the notwithstanding clauses, 9 to immunize the law (and government) against legal challenges to religious and equality rights contained in both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms 10 and the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, 11 indicates a troubling choice to employ public law instruments to curb constitutionally protected identity-based rights. [...]democracy” varies greatly in this context, protecting some rights to the detriment of others, as well as creating a new normative framework which is not only imbued with meaning, but also brings with it binding obligations. [...]readers may also notice an interesting gender divide—whereas the English language articles are written by three female academics, the French language articles are written by five male academics.