Quebec Premier François Legault's government has invoked the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to pass a number of recent bills.Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press

Sheema Khan is the author of Of Hockey and Hijab: Reflections of a Canadian Muslim Woman.

In its relentless march toward laïceté, the Quebec government is now using a clause in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms to make itself the arbiter of religious practice in the public sphere.

Its latest effort is Bill 9, which will ban daycare employees from wearing religious symbols, prohibit public prayer without municipal authorization (though solitary prayer will still be permitted), and disallow public institutions, such as universities, CEGEPs and schools, from offering prayer spaces.

Under this law, exclusively halal or kosher meals cannot be served by public institutions, and anyone present in a public school must uncover their face, such as during parent-teacher interviews or when picking up one’s child from school. Bill 9 follows Bill 94, introduced in October, which expanded on Bill 21, the province’s ban on religious symbols for many public-sector employees, to include anyone who interacts with students in schools, such as office staff, janitors, psychologists, librarians and parent volunteers.

Criticism has been swift. The Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec called Bill 9 a “radical infringement on the rights and freedoms of the Quebec population.” The National Council of Canadian Muslims called it “political opportunism” meant to deflect attention from Quebec’s........

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