Two Schools Want Exemption From Quebec's Religious Culture Course

As previously reported, Quebec's Education Department is requiring, starting next fall, all public and private religious schools to offer a new course in Ethics and Religious Culture. Yesterday's Montreal Gazette reported that two schools have asked for an exemption from the requirement. Loyola High School, a Jesuit institution in Notre Dame de Grâce, told the Education Department that its students are already "strongly formed" in the key values to be taught in the new course. The other school seeking an exemption is Emmanuel Christian School in Dollard des Ormeaux. The Education Department says that the new course is intended to teach religious culture so students will be able to understand the importance of places of worship, beliefs and religious institutions in the province.