Montreal will remove its city hall welcoming sign featuring a hijab-wearing lady
Calls to remove the City Hall image, which was unveiled last June after renovations, have grown.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has announced that a welcome sign in City Hall’s lobby, depicting a woman in a headscarf, will be removed to respect secularism following backlash deeming the image offensive.
Plante explained on the talk show Tout le monde en parle that the drawing, which shows a woman in a headscarf standing alongside two men, is being taken down due to the “discomfort” it causes and to uphold secular values in public institutions.
The sketch includes a younger man in a baseball cap and an older man with his hands clasped, under the phrase “Welcome to Montreal City Hall!” written in French.
Plante emphasized that “diversity — the great cultural wealth of Montreal” can still be acknowledged while prioritizing secularism.
Meanwhile, in Montreal’s Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, a separate hijab-related controversy arose after a library used an image of a young girl wearing a hijab to promote a reading event for young children.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon criticized both instances, suggesting that they signal an intrusion of religion into public spaces.
The topic of religious presence in public institutions resurfaced recently when 11 teachers in a Montreal elementary school were suspended following concerns over alleged religious influences.
Calls to remove the City Hall image, which was unveiled last June after renovations, have grown.
In July, the Mouvement laïque québécois voiced that the image undermines secularism, calling it offensive to those who support equality and freedom of conscience.
Additionally, Pour les droits des femmes du Québec, a women’s rights group, wrote to Plante during the summer, condemning the headscarf as a symbol of religious fundamentalism and questioning its impact on social unity.
Plante noted that steps to replace the image are already underway.
Her office declined to comment further following her talk show appearance, which occurred shortly after she announced she would not seek a third term in next year’s elections.
