Montreal city councillors voted today to approve a city-wide bylaw that bans the wearing of masks at public protests in a vote that passed 33-25.

The ban on wearing masks comes into effect tomorrow as thousands of students took to the streets tonight to protest the ban and the new bylaw by the Quebec General Assembly that severely restricts the rights of demonstrators in the province.

"When a cause is just, why is it necessary to hide behind a mask?" Mayor Gérald Tremblay quipped at a news conference after the vote.