Quebec’s announced move to ban prayer in public spaces is being condemned by civil liberties advocates, while legal experts say it could further test the limits of the notwithstanding clause in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge said Thursday that he will table legislation this fall to outlaw public prayer , calling “the rise of street prayers” in Montreal and other parts of Quebec “a serious and sensitive issue.”

Roberge did not say if the government would invoke the notwithstanding clause, which would allow the bill to override certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last year, Premier François Legault said he was considering that possibility while calling out prayers in the streets.

“The government probably

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