Supreme Court says “No more prayers at council” "$56"- * 5 r /&84 GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
mayor and councillor since 1972. “I can’t remember us ever doing it. It’s not something of any concern to us.” Prior to the Supreme Court ruling, Rus- sell Township council had considered two options for revising its procedural bylaw during its April 13 committee of the whole session. One was to retain the brief prayer offered at the start of council meetings.The other was to replace it with a short statement of values for guiding council members in their decisions. Council decided to retain the prayer but the revised procedures bylaw does not take effect until April 21 so there is time for more review and revisions if council chooses. Mayor Leroux, during an inter- view Wednesday, noted that council may discuss the situation some more during its next regular session April 20. “We’re going to have administration contact legal,” he said. “But ours was a non-denominational prayer. It will be a decision of council how they want to proceed with it. ” “I don’t know if we’re going to change things or wait to see if we’re told to change,” saidMayor François St-Amour ofThe Nation municipality. “We don’t have to join. This (decision) was directed at Saguenay council.” But Mayor St-Amour will bring the matter before his council for comment and review. He noted that he has already had phone calls from local voters about the court ruling. “I’ll be consulting with council,” said Mayor Fernand Dicaire of Alfred-Plantage- net Township. “It’s premature of me to tell you what we’re going to do at this time.” Clarence-Rockland Mayor Guy Desjar- dins expects that his council will decide whether or not to get a legal opinion about how the court ruling will affect its meetings. He noted that he himself would be quite comfortable if other religious groups asked permission to have symbols of their faith placed on display in council chambers. “My own personal belief,” he said, “is I’d like to keep the prayer.” Eight-year legal battle Alain Simoneau, a Saguenay resident, began the court battle with a complaint at first about themayor and councillors praying in public at city hall. He also complained about the presence of several religious sym- bols in the building, including a standard Mais la décision de la Cour suprême a tout changé. À la suite de la décision, l’admi- nistration de la municipalité a effectué une recherche rapide et a soumis un rapport de 24 pages au conseil municipal, incluant un résumé de la décision de la Cour suprême, les décisions d’autres municipalités et une énumération d’options possibles. Finalement, le conseil municipal a opté pour une solution de dernièreminute inspi- rée de la Charte des droits et libertés et qui traite de la liberté d’expression religieuse. À l’avenir, le conseil prononcera la décla- ration suivante au début de ses délibéra- tions : Attendu que le Canada est fondé sur des principes qui reconnaissent la suprématie de Dieu et la primauté du droit, prenons un moment de réflexion personnelle.
Prayers have no place at municipal council meetings, at least not in public. That is the latest ruling on the subject from the Supreme Court of Canada. Many municipal councils in Eastern Ontario, including several in Prescott-Rus- sell along with the counties council, offer up a brief prayer for guidance as part of their normal opening ceremony. But the Supreme Court of Canada issued a ruling April 15 against the practice, in response to an eight-year legal battle that began in Saguenay, QC, against the practice of that municipal council of opening its sessions with a 30-second prayer. It’s a decision that now leaves local muni- cipal councils and the counties council with the question whether to drop prayer altoge- ther from the official openings of their public meetings, or replace it with somethingmore generic, neutral and inoffensive. Stéphane Parisien, chief administrator for the United Counties of Prescott-Russell (UCPR), is now scratching his head over the whole situation. “Our prayer does not relate to any particu- lar religion,” said Parisien, during aWednes- day afternoon phone interview. “I’mnot sure what we’re going to do.” Parisien noted that the Association of Municipalities of Ontario may issue a directive or recommendation on the issue. Hawkesbury council has a brief prayer to open its meetings. Mayor Jeanne Charlebois noted that there is no specific mention of God in the prayer and she does not believe it goes against the Supreme Court’s ruling argument. “I would say it’s more a reflection before we start the meeting, ” she said during a Wednesday phone interview, noting that she has never heard any complaints about the practice. “But I’ll bring it to council. It’s up to council to amend the procedural bylaw. ” The whole question is a moot point for Mayor Gary Barton and Champlain Township council. They won’t even have to worry about paying to get a legal opinion on the subject. “We don’t do it (prayer) at our municipal council,” said Barton, noting that he has sat at the township table as both
Members of Russell Township council stand Monday evening at the start of the April 20 session for the last regular prayer that has been customary to start their meetings. Next month, a new more generic values statement will take its place, following the results of a federal Supreme Court ruling on the issue of prayer andmunicipal council meetings: “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of Law, let us take a moment of personal reflection.”
ornamental crucifix and also a SacredHeart of Jesus icon. The case continued to the Supreme Court of Canada. The court issued its ruling on April 15, stating that elected officials do not have the right to recite prayers at munici- pal council meetings and that Saguenay mayor Jean Tremblay was promoting his own religious beliefs to the detriment of others, which does breach the responsibility of the municipality or any other version of
the State to remain neutral. The Supreme Court has ordered the prac- tice of prayer at publicmeetings of council in Saguenay to stop and for the city andMayor Tremblay to pay Simoneau $33,200 in com- pensatory damages, punitive damages, and costs. The court chose not to make a ruling regarding the presence of religious symbols in municipal buildings and just limit the scope of its ruling to the issue of prayer at public council meetings.
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GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
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Le conseil municipal de Russell a dû changer son fusil d’épaule à la suite de la décision rendue par la Cour suprême du Canada la semaine dernière, laquelle interdit la récitation de la prière au début des délibérations des réunions de conseils municipaux. Rappelons qu’avant même que la déci- sion de la Cour suprême ne soit prise, la question avait été débattue au conseil muni- cipal dans le cadre des récents pourpar- lers sur les règles de procédures. Le conseil croyait bien la question résolue depuis la réunion du 13 avril alors qu’il avait décidé de réciter une courte prière.
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