FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 26, 2025

“For Cardus, this report reveals a profound misunderstanding of Quebec’s religious reality, and some of its recommendations jeopardise institutions that are fundamental to believers and to Quebec society as a whole.

We welcome the committee’s consideration of our recommendation to better define the principle of religious neutrality of the state, in order to apply it fairly and consistently throughout Quebec. We believe that there must be dialogue between the state and faith communities to ensure mutual understanding, and the creation of an independent body responsible for secularism, as proposed, could help achieve this.

However, the recommendations to remove public funding for independent schools and daycare centres and to eliminate religion as a charitable purpose would cause irreparable harm to institutions that are essential to believers and to Quebec society as a whole.

A Cardus study recently showed that tax exemptions for religious organisations generate socio-economic benefits more than 10 times greater than the value of the tax credits granted by government, and are therefore beneficial to all citizens.

We have also demonstrated the contribution of independent religious schools in producing citizens who are more engaged than average in society, who contribute to the common good, and strengthen social cohesion.

It should be noted that religious services in Quebec attract more than 20.9 million attendees, more than double the attendance generated by all performing arts and entertainment combined. Religious communities are an integral part of the Québécois nation, and their social commitment benefits everyone.

Implementing recommendations that would weaken this fundamental part of Quebec civil society would seriously undermine social cohesion and community engagement throughout Quebec.”

• Jean-Christophe Jasmin, Quebec Director at think tank Cardus

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Daniel Proussalidis
Cardus – Director of Media & Public Relations
613-241-4500 x508
media@cardus.ca

Cardus – Imagination toward a thriving society
Cardus is a non-partisan think tank dedicated to clarifying and strengthening, through research and dialogue, the ways in which society’s institutions can work together for the common good.