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After the Quebec mosque shooting in 2017, Aymen Derbali, shot seven times in the attack, believed the provincial government would do everything it could to fight against Islamophobia and the “stigmatization” of Muslims in the province.

But with its recently proposed secularism bill, Derbali said on Sunday, the government has chosen to do the opposite.

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“Instead of focusing on those societal problems, the government wants to pass a law that oppresses the rights of women who wear hijabs,” Derbali said. “It needs to be said: if this law passes, it would be the only one of its kind in the world.”

Derbali, left paralyzed by the shooting, spoke from his wheelchair at a protest in Montreal denouncing Bill 21 as discriminatory and anti-Muslim.

The bill, introduced by Premier François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec government, proposes a ban on religious symbols for public servants in positions of authority, including judges, police officers, prosecutors, and elementary and high school teachers.