Quebec Prayer Restrictions Reshape Rules at Transit Agency, Universities

Quebec’s new restrictions on prayer are changing the rules at public workplaces and university campuses, with employees and students facing new limits on where they can pray.

New rules under Quebec’s secularism law took effect Sept. 1, including a ban on prayer rooms in public institutions such as universities, colleges and transit agencies.

The law, adopted by the Quebec legislature in April, also prohibits collective religious practices on public roads and in public parks unless a municipality grants an exception on a case-by-case basis.

The measures have drawn opposition from religious and civil-liberties groups, which have raised concerns about freedom of religion and assembly.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has said the law undermines religious freedom and sows division in Quebec, while Catholic leaders have warned it could affect religious traditions such as Good Friday processions.

At Montreal’s public transit agency, the STM, employees can no longer pray anywhere on the agency’s property—including in four wellness rooms where prayer had previously been permitted alongside meditation, relaxation and yoga.

The rooms remain open, but only for permitted activities such as meditation, relaxation and yoga. The new rules have been posted at their entrances and inside.

But the STM says it can only monitor what is visible, such as religious rituals, prayers involving gestures or prayers spoken aloud.

Amélie Régis, a spokesperson for the transit agency, said managers who witness a religious practice in the workplace are being asked to approach employees “in a humane way” to remind them of the rules and determine how the STM can help them adjust to the change.

“It is still important for us to act with care toward our employees who are facing this change and to support them,” Régis said.

Employees can leave STM property during unpaid personal time, such as breaks or lunch periods, if they want to pray, as long as doing so does not interfere with their work, she said.

The changes are also being felt on university campuses.

At the Université de Montréal, managers and security staff are being given guidance on how to respond to questions about prayer.

“People will indeed be asked to leave campus to pray since it is not permitted by law,” spokesperson Geneviève O’Meara said in a written statement.

O’Meara noted that the university did not have dedicated prayer rooms before the new restrictions took effect.

Université du Québec à Montréal also said it had no spaces specifically dedicated to prayer before the law was adopted, noting that several places of worship are located within a few minutes of campus.

“UQAM will comply with its obligations under the law,” spokesperson Jenny Desrochers said in a written statement.

Montreal police did not respond to questions about how they will enforce the restrictions.