Take Action on December 3rd! Say NO to Bill 94! Participate in the action wherever you are.

Bill 94 is proposed legislation in Quebec, which if approved, would deny essential government services, public employment, educational opportunities, and health care to Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil).

Take Action to defend women’s access to public services.
Take Action to support women’s rights and freedoms in Canada.
Take Action to stop Bill 94 from becoming law.

Find out how to get involved!

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Join the Non/No 94 Movement for a Day of Action.

Speak up! Write, email, phone, fax Quebec Premier Jean Charest, along with Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities Yolande James, Minister of Justice Kathleen Weil, and Minister of Culture, Communications & the Status of Women Christine St-Pierre to voice your concern regarding the discriminatory Bill 94. CC us at nonbill94@gmail.com along with your Member of Parliament, Member of the Legislative Assembly, and Member of Provincial Parliament. You can also send a message to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Michael Ignatieff, M.P., Liberal Leader. Find their contact information here.

Host email hubs where friends, co-worker, communities and individuals can send messages opposing Bill 94 via our Emailer. Find No/Non Bill 94 Emailer here. The emailer will send a message directly to Quebec Premier Jean Charest, along with Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities Yolande James, Minister of Justice Kathleen Weil, and Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women Christine St-Pierre to voice your concern regarding the discriminatory Bill 94. Find talking points and contacts here.

Circulate this call to action widely to your networks, friends, allies, co-workers. Have conversations with them about your concerns about Bill 94 and refer them to articles on the proposed legislation. Find resources here.

Organize a rally in your community or attend ours in Toronto on December 3^rd to oppose and spread awareness about Bill 94.

Change your Facebook/Twitter/Tumbler display picture to a No/Non Bill 94 image/poster. Find image/poster here. You can also change your status to link the Emailer. Find the Emailer link here.

Anybody who thinks Quebec’s Bill 94 – the one that prevents women wearing the niqab from getting or giving public services – will be passed without a fight should have been at Ryerson’s Thomas Lounge last night.

You  can also fill out this form to email your opposition to Bill 94 to the Quebec National Assembly.

No Bill 94 Coalition is made up of concerned individuals, organizations and grassroots movements that are demanding that the proposed Quebec legislation, Bill 94, be withdrawn immediately.

Quebec Premier Jean Charest has proposed legislation which, if approved by the National Assembly of Quebec, would deny essential government services, public employment, educational opportunities, and health care to people who wear facial coverings. Bill 94 specifically targets Muslim women who wear the niqab (face veil). The bill is an exaggerated response to a manufactured crisis that will allow the government to deny women services to which they are entitled. A truly democratic society is one in which all individuals have the freedom of religious expression and a right to access public services.

Although touted as a step toward gender equality, Bill 94, if approved, will perpetuate gender inequality by legislating control over women’s bodies and sanctioning discrimination against Muslim women who wear the niqab. Instead of singling out a minuscule percentage of the population, government resources would be better spent implementing poverty reduction and education programs to address real gender inequality in meaningful ways. Barring any woman from social services, employment, health, and education, as well as creating a climate of shame and fear around her is not an effective means to her empowerment. If Premier Charest’s government is truly committed to gender equality it should foster a safe and inclusive society that respects a woman’s right to make decisions for herself. Standing up for women’s rights is admirable. “Rescuing” women is paternalistic and insulting. Further marginalizing Muslim women who wear niqab and denying them access to social services, economic opportunities and civic participation is unacceptable.

Forcing a woman to reveal part of her body is no different from forcing her to be covered. Both the federal Conservative and Liberal parties have expressed support for Bill 94, which raises the very real possibility that similar legislation will be proposed across Canada. We demand that Bill 94 be withdrawn immediately, as it has no place in a democratic state that values autonomy, liberty and justice.

No Bill 94 Coalition is made up of concerned individuals, organizations and grassroots movements that are demanding that the proposed Quebec legislation, Bill 94, be withdrawn immediately.

We invite all individuals and groups of conscience inside and outside of Quebec to publicly or privately endorse this statement by emailing their name(s), location (city, state/province, and country), and contact information to nonbill94 [at] gmail [dot] com

Download the No 94 Coalition Statement [PDF]