City keeps 'prayer' after ruling
Supreme Court call says prayer shouldn't take place at Quebec council meeting; Legislative assembly may re-consider practice
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city will continue starting council meetings by reciting what councillors and city documents describe as a prayer and also a mediation.
City council will continue to recite a meditation at the start of its meetings because it is not religious. Here, Coun. Dan Wong, right, alongside Coun. Cory Vanthuyne, speaks on a topic unrelated to the prayer during a municipal services committee meeting Monday. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
This comes after the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously ruled last Wednesday that council in a Quebec city was infringing the rights of a man by reciting a prayer at the start of its meetings.
City spokesperson Nalini Naidoo said staff have since reviewed the municipality's practice.
"Based on (Wednesday's) ruling we've taken a look at our process and the current meditation that is used to commence council meetings have no religious components therefore no changes are required at this point," she wrote in an e-mail.
City councillors and city documents, such as the council procedures bylaw passed in 2003, refer to the practice using the term 'prayer.'
That's a holdover from when a prayer was actually recited, city lawyer Kerry Penney told Yellowknifer Thursday.
The prayer, along with the meditation, used to be printed on a laminated card in councillors' desks before the council chambers were renovated starting in 2013.
Mayor Mark Heyck said after the renovation, the cards were often forgotten while meetings were held elsewhere and the practice slowly switched just to the meditation, said Heyck.
As meetings start, those attending are asked to stand. The prepared text is read while councillors often clasp their hands and bow their heads, video recordings of recent meetings show.
"We are grateful for our city, for our homes, for our neighbours and for our freedom," the text of what's read aloud states. "We are grateful for the opportunity we have to meet here and to serve our fellow citizens.
"May we bring both the strength of our convictions, and the willingness to listen and learn, to our discussions. May we consider the needs and aspirations of all our fellow citizens in our decisions. And may we always represent our constituents with dignity, integrity, and honesty."
Saguenay, the city at the centre of the court's ruling, started its meetings with a Catholic prayer and council chambers had religious symbols. An atheist attending the meetings objected, saying it made him uncomfortable and infringed upon his freedom of conscience and religion.
The ruling states that the state must remain neutral when it comes to religion and continuing a form of religious expression by calling it a cultural or historical reality, or heritage, breaches that neutrality.
The ruling regarding prayer at municipal meetings may have a broader impact.
The Canadian Press reported last week the speaker of the New Brunswick legislature will review its prayer recitation following the ruling.
The prayer recited in the territorial legislative assembly by Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli on March 11 is more overtly religious than the one recited at city hall.
"Oh God, may your spirit and guidance be in us as we work for the benefit of all of our people, for peace and justice in our land and for the constant recognition of the dignity and aspirations of those we serve. Amen," a recording shows Nadli saying, followed by other MLAs saying 'amen.'
While members have the right to change the wording of the prayer, this is essentially what MLAs recite. Weledeh MLA Bob Bromley said, since the court ruling, he's heard from a constituent expressing discomfort with the prayer. He told Yellowknifer Monday he'd be in favour of reviewing what's said in the assembly.
"I think it's something we should discuss," Bromley said. "It might be good to come up with something that is appropriate for everyone."
Tim Mercer, the clerk of the legislative assembly, said Monday it will be up to all MLAs - the caucus - to decide if there should be any changes.
"We've had a look through the ruling. Caucus may decide to review it once they meet (in May) but we certainly have no direction to that effect," he said.
