The Quebec government said Thursday it will introduce legislation this autumn to ban organised prayer in streets, parks and other public places, citing what it calls a rapid increase in “street prayers,” particularly in Montreal. Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge said the practice has become “a serious and sensitive issue” and pledged to deliver a bill that strengthens provincial secularism rules. The measure forms part of a broader package Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec has promised to reinforce the province’s laïcité framework. Besides prohibiting public prayers, the forthcoming bill is expected to extend Quebec’s ban on religious symbols to all employees in publicly funded daycare centres and other early-childhood settings. Roberge indicated the government is prepared to invoke the Charter’s notwithstanding clause to shield key provisions from court challenges, a tactic Quebec used with its 2019 secularism law, Bill 21. Quebec is moving beyond recommendations issued this week by a government-appointed panel, whose nearly 300-page report urged municipalities—not the province—to regulate collective prayer in open spaces. The CAQ caucus has signalled strong support for a provincial ban after months of demonstrations in which Muslim worshippers prayed outside Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica and other high-profile locations. Civil-liberties and faith groups reacted quickly. The Canadian Muslim Forum warned a blanket prohibition would stigmatise minority communities and undermine social cohesion, while Catholic leaders have previously raised concerns about restricting religious expression in public. Legault’s government says the bill will balance freedom of religion with the province’s commitment to keeping public spaces secular.