Back in June 2019, the provincial government in Quebec adopted a secularism law, known as Bill 21. The law bars some government employees in positions of authority, such as teachers, from wearing religious signs while on the job. In December 2021, the law was applied for the first time. A Muslim teacher who wears a hijab was removed from her job and reassigned to an administrative position. The decision has sparked controversy and polarised Canadians.

What's behind France's Republican values bill? First announced amid a fresh wave of terror attacks in the autumn, compounded by the gruesome beheading of a middle school social studies teacher, what was originally billed as a law against religious separatism is making its way to the floor of the National Assembly.