A group of First Nations chiefs questioned the Quebec government’s constitution, tabled last month, saying it doesn’t recognize their status, and lacked proper consultation.

Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador (AFNQL) Chief Francis Verreault-Paul said the legislation does not reflect a “a vision of co-existence” between nations, according to CBC News.

He and more than 30 other chiefs met with Justice Minister Simon Jolin Barette last week to discuss the constitution.

“I don’t think this is the way you want to build something,” he is reported as saying. “You want to build things together.”

The new constitution would establish among the province’s founding principles, the equality of men and women, French as the official language of the province and reject “Canadian multiculturalism” in favour of a “national integration” model.

New secularism law expands religious symbols ban

The Quebec government tabled its new secularism law on Nov. 27, expanding on previously introduced legislation that banned certain government employees from wearing religious symbols. The minister responsible for the bill, Jean-François Roberge, said that the bill would help enforce the “religious neutrality of the state”, according to CBC News.

The new rules would expand the religious symbol ban to daycare workers and private school workers, though there is a grandfather clause for those currently working. The new rules would also ban group prayer in public spaces and prayer spaces at public institutions like universities.

Religious groups, including the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Quebec and the National Council of Canadian Muslims have called the bill an infringement on the rights of Quebecers, and “political opportunism.”

Some of the changes to the law come from a government-commissioned report released earlier this year on how to strengthen secularism in the province.

Food insecurity increasing across province

A recent report from l’Observatoire québécois des inégalités (OQI) shows that food insecurity is on the rise in the province, particularly among renters.

Food insecurity can come in a variety of degrees of severity, from not getting a varied enough diet, to skipping meals due to financial constraints, reports Radio-Canada.

The study states that between 2020 and 2024, the housing and food components of the consumer price index increased by 25 per cent. Over roughly the same period, food insecurity nearly doubled in Quebec, from 10.9 per cent in 2019 to 19.8 per cent in 2023. The Outaouais was slightly below the provincial average, at 17.8 per cent in 2023.

In 2023, 319,000 Quebecers suffered from “severe food insecurity”, meaning they had a marked reduction in food intake.

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