Quebec premier says he wants to stop people from praying in public [Video]

Quebec Premier François Legault said Friday afternoon that he wants to ban praying in public and that he was considering using the notwithstanding clause to do so.

The premier was giving an overview of the past year in Quebec City before lawmakers break until January when he made the announcement. He said he had instructed his team to look into ways to put the ban in place.

“Seeing people praying in the streets, in public parks, is not something we want in Quebec,” Legault said.

His comments, a departure from the other topics in the overview, came after a report in La Presse described religious behaviour at Saint-Maxime school in Laval, Que., which included prayer inside classrooms. It also reported teachers communicating among themselves and with students in Arabic.

“We have seen teachers implementing Islamist religious concepts in schools. Teachers who forbid girls from playing sports, among other things. Teachers, we see it again this morning, in Laval, …