June 16, 2025 | Speaking on Montreal Now with Aaron Rand, Pearl Eliadis cautioned that if Canada’s Supreme Court does not act to limit Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause in laws such as Bills 21 and 96, the anglophone community may need to seek recourse through the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Eliadis noted that Canada, as a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has a duty to uphold principles of equality and non-discrimination—protections she believes are being undermined by the legislation.
Category:
Published on: 14 Jul 2025
July 12, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis spoke to CityNews Montreal about the potential to challenge Quebec’s Bills 21 and 96 before the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Eliadis explained that bringing the case to the UN would aim “to get the UN committee's view” on whether the laws violate international human rights obligations. The interview highlights growing legal interest in using international mechanisms to confront the controversial legislation.
Category:
Published on: 14 Jul 2025
June 12, 2025 | Reporting on a public forum organized by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, the Montreal Gazette highlights Pearl Eliadis’s warning that if the Supreme Court of Canada does not intervene to limit Quebec’s use of the notwithstanding clause in laws like Bill 96 and Bill 21, the anglophone community should consider taking their case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Category:
Published on: 12 Jun 2025
June 2025 | Pearl Eliadis recently authored a journal article published in the Global Justice Journal by Queen’s University Faculty of Law comparing the post-genocide roles of Rwanda’s National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC) and National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), both established under the 1993 Arusha Accords but with markedly different approaches. The NURC was closely controlled by the government and focused on promoting national unity through civic education and social programs.
Category:
Published on: 12 Jun 2025
June 11, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis will join a virtual panel discussion hosted by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy on June 11 at 7:30 PM for Your Rights, Notwithstanding. This timely and thought-provoking event will explore the history and evolution of the Notwithstanding Clause, how it has been used by Québec in recent years, the risks it poses to Charter-protected rights, and the growing legal and civic efforts to push back against its unchecked use.
Category:
Published on: 10 Jun 2025
April 11, 2025 | In an interview, Pearl Eliadis critiques Quebec’s newly proposed Bill 94, which expands the province’s secularism rules by extending the ban on religious symbols to all school support staff and volunteers, mandating uncovered faces in educational institutions, and prohibiting religious accommodations across the education system.
Category:
Published on: 30 Apr 2025
March 2025 | In a 2024 policy brief for the Collectif québécois pour la prévention de l’itinérance (CQPI), Pearl Eliadis, alongside Melissa Shemirani and Angelina Freeman, highlights the urgent need for increased investment in second-stage shelters for women and children fleeing domestic and intimate partner violence. Building on a 2022 recommendation from CQPI’s Gender Research Stream, the team conducted a rapid literature review that found second-stage housing plays a vital role in bridging the gap between emergency shelters and permanent housing.
Category:
Published on: 23 Apr 2025
March 20, 2025 | In a CBC interview, Pearl Eliadis criticized Quebec’s Bill 94, arguing that the government is fully aware the legislation violates the Canadian Constitution. She pointed to the use of the notwithstanding clause as proof, saying it allows the government to override fundamental rights because it knows the bill wouldn’t hold up in court. Eliadis described the law as a political tactic by the Coalition Avenir Québec to win support by outdoing the Parti Québécois on issues of identity and language.
Category:
Published on: 23 Apr 2025
March 21, 2025 | Professor Pearl Eliadis on banning of religious symbol in schools explains that the government’s use of the notwithstanding clause indicates it is aware the bill would not survive a Charter challenge. “This is a government trying to out-PQ the PQ,” Eliadis said, referring to the rival Parti Québécois and its focus on identity politics.
Category:
Published on: 25 Mar 2025
February 4, 2025 | Professor Pearl Eliadis wrote in the Literary Review of Canada on the differences between free speech in the US and free expression in Canada. The recent conflicts go much deeper than tariffs. It speak to the Canadian national sovereignty and the ability of their courts to affirm the differences in the legal cultures.
Category:
Published on: 5 Feb 2025
January 23rd, 2025 | In an interview on Let’s Go with Sabrina Marandola on CBC, Pearl Eliadis discussed the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to hear a legal challenge against Quebec’s Bill 21. Eliadis emphasized the significance of the Court’s move, stating, “It’s the Supreme Court saying that it’s important and an issue of national significance.”
Category:
Published on: 28 Jan 2025
January 23, 2025 | On the Montreal Now with Aaron Rand podcast, Pearl Eliadis discussed Quebec’s Bill 21 and its Supreme Court challenge. She highlighted the months-long legal process ahead, with both sides submitting extensive documentation before a decision is reached. Eliadis called the case a key opportunity for Canada to reflect on how the Charter of Rights and Freedoms is applied.
Category:
Published on: 27 Jan 2025
January 25, 2025 | The Supreme Court of Canada will decide whether a law that Quebec enacted in 2019, barring public-sector workers from wearing religious symbols, violates their rights. Professor Pearl Eliadis said that while one of the main tenets of Quebec’s secularism was the idea that the state should be a neutral actor, she thought the law had imposed the government’s viewpoint of what nonreligion ought to look like in the public service.
Category:
Published on: 27 Jan 2025
January 23, 2025 | Organizations advocating for LGBTQ2S+ rights in Quebec are speaking out against comments made by Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who said he’s only aware of two genders. Professor and Human rights lawyer Pearl Eliadis said there’s a lot of disinformation on social media conflating sex and gender.
Category:
Published on: 27 Jan 2025
January 24, 2025 | The Supreme Court of Canada has agreed to hear a challenge against Quebec's controversial secularism law that prohibits certain public workers from wearing religious symbols while performing their duties. Professor Pearl Eliadis joined for an interview with the CBC to discuss the nature of the issues at stake, by the very fact that the court has agreed to hear the case.
Category:
Published on: 27 Jan 2025
Pages
