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Pearl Eliadis Elected Chair of the Court Challenges Program Official Language Rights Expert Panel
Pearl Eliadis has been elected as Chair of the Court Challenges Program (CCP) Official Languages Rights Expert Panel. In this capacity, she will lead the work of the Panel, which is responsible for deciding on funding requests from individuals and not-for-profit organizations engaged in test cases of national importance that have the potential to clarify and advance constitutional and quasi-constitutional official language rights.
Published: 1 Oct 2025
Pearl Eliadis on why courts must clarify Quebec’s language legislation | CJAD 800
September 18, 2025 | Pearl Eliadis alongside Andrew Caddell, president of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, discussed the federal government’s stance on Quebec’s language law on CJAD 800 radio. Eliadis noted that Ottawa has not taken a position on the bill, citing political reasons linked to Canada’s minority government. She explained that clarification is needed, which is why the issue is being brought before the courts.
Published: 22 Sep 2025
Pearl Eliadis on the Controversial Legal rule of Notwithstanding Clause | Global News
September 19, 2025 | In a news segment on the Global News with Touria Izri, Flora Pearl Eliadis spoke about the urgency Ottawa posit on the notwithstanding clause, stating: "There was this tradition of legislative restraint, this was something you were not really supposed to use." However in reality, legal experts warn right-leaning premiers are using it more often to ram through legislation. Now, the federal government wants the Supreme Court to step in and set limits.
Published: 19 Sep 2025
Pearl Eliadis on the Advisory Committee’s Controversial Secularism Proposals | Daybreak Montreal
August 27, 2025 | On Daybreak Montreal with Sean Henry, Pearl Eliadis said Quebec’s new secularism proposals mark a fundamental shift in the province’s legal and constitutional framework. The proposals come from a government advisory committee tasked with reviewing how the province’s secularism law is applied and how it could be expanded.
Published: 4 Sep 2025
Pearl Eliadis on the Risks of Quebec’s Secularism Report | CBC
August 28, 2025 | In a story reported by CBC, a Quebec government committee has issued 50 recommendations, including extending the religious symbols ban to subsidized daycares and requiring people to uncover their faces for public services. These proposals have drawn criticism from community leaders, who argue they discriminate against religious minorities, particularly Muslim women.
Published: 28 Aug 2025
Pearl Eliadis Contributes to Canada’s National Consultation for X Summit of the Americas
August 14, 2025 | McGill University, in partnership with the Organization of American States (OAS), hosted Canada’s National Consultation for the upcoming X Summit of the Americas. Pearl Eliadis was among the contributors recognized for advancing an inter-American conversation rooted in openness, purpose, and collective action. The event, organized through the McGill School of Continuing Studies, brought together voices from civil society, academia, government, and communities.
Published: 14 Aug 2025
Pearl Eliadis on the Legal Justification for Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones | CBC
July 30, 2025 | Quoted in a recent CBC News article, Pearl Eliadis offered legal insights on the Quebec Superior Court’s decision to uphold the 50-metre buffer zone around abortion clinics. Eliadis underscored the ruling as a necessary protection of health care access, especially amid a rising tide of anti-abortion sentiment influenced by developments in the U.S.
Published: 30 Jul 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Potential United Nations Challenge to Bills 21 and 96 | Montreal Now with Aaron Rand
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.
Published: 14 Jul 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Challenging Quebec’s Bills 21 and 96 at the UN | City News Montreal
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.
Published: 14 Jul 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Taking Bill 96 and Bill 21 to the United Nations Human Rights Committee | Montreal Gazette
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.
Published: 12 Jun 2025
Pearl Eliadis on the Role of Human Rights Commissions in Post-Genocide Rwanda | Global Justice Journal
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.
Published: 12 Jun 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Defending Charter Rights and Challenging the Notwithstanding Clause
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 unche
Published: 10 Jun 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Quebec’s Bill 94 and the Deepening Discrimination Under the Guise of Secularism | Law360 Canada
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.
Published: 30 Apr 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Why Quebec Must Invest in Second-Stage Shelters to Break the Cycle of Violence | CQPI
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.
Published: 23 Apr 2025
Pearl Eliadis on Bill 94 and Quebec’s Secularism Strategy | CBC
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.
Published: 23 Apr 2025
