Quebec's public prayer limits reach remote Magdalen Islands

A long-standing boat blessing in the Magdalen Islands could require a municipal permit under a proposed Quebec bill that would restrict collective public prayer; the legislation would also ban prayer rooms in public institutions and has drawn objections from local leaders and religious figures.

Each spring, a Catholic priest blesses hundreds of fishing boats on the Magdalen Islands before the fleet leaves for the lobster season, a tradition reported as about 150 years old. That local ceremony and an associated mass and wreath-laying are now caught up in a provincial bill that would limit collective public prayer. The bill would require municipal authorization for collective religious practices and would extend workplace bans on religious symbols while prohibiting prayer rooms in public institutions. The proposal is being debated in Quebec’s legislature more than 700 kilometres from the islands and has prompted questions from municipal leaders and religious figures about how it will be applied. What we know: - The Magdalen Islands hold an annual boat blessing and mass that community members say dates back roughly 150 years. - The proposed Quebec legislation would ban any “collective religious practice” unless a municipality grants authorization, and municipalities may permit brief events that do not pose public safety concerns. - Secularism Minister Jean‑François Roberge said the islands’ benediction would likely require a permit but saw no reason the tradition could not continue under municipal approval. - Local officials including the Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine mayor say they have not experienced public disturbances from religious practices and worry municipalities will face subjective decisions about what counts as a religious display. - The bill’s scope would also ban prayer rooms at colleges and universities and expand an existing workplace ban on religious symbols to more settings; critics say the measures have disproportionately affected Muslim communities. - The original secularism law is being challenged and a related Supreme Court matter was tentatively scheduled for March, as reported to the legislature. Summary: The proposed law would bring a century‑old island ceremony under a new municipal permitting process and could change how public religious practices are managed across Quebec, with municipalities and religious leaders warning the definition of collective practice is unclear. A broader legal challenge to Quebec’s secularism rules is moving through the courts, with a related Supreme Court matter tentatively scheduled for March.