With the academic year getting back in full swing, many families across Canada spent the last few weeks of their summer vacation preparing their children to go back to school. At the Sadaqa Food Bank, similar preparations were underway this month, as the organisation ran its annual Back to School campaign to help families in need.

“We have many needy families in the community and they don't just need food,” Yacoub Abu-al-Hawa, coordinator of the Sadaqa Food Bank explains. “One of the things that many families need help with is back to school preparations. If you need to buy just one item, it's not expensive, but when you have a whole list of things you need and especially when you have a lot of children, then it quickly becomes very expensive. And this cost comes all at once; it isn't distributed over the year. It is very difficult for many families to afford. So we are just trying to help them and provide what we can.”

The fiery debate over secularism and reasonable accommodation is once again a hot topic in Quebec, as Premiere Pauline Marois' government is poised to introduce controversial legislation that will ban religious symbols in the public sphere.

As part of the proposed “Charter of Quebec Values”, public employees working at government offices, schools, CEGEPs, universities, hospitals, courtrooms, police stations and daycares will be prohibited from wearing hijabs, turbans, kippas, niqabs and visible crucifixes.