City hall, legislature review prayer practice

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/04/2015 (3921 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The future of Winnipeg council’s practice of reciting an opening prayer at meetings will be reviewed following a Supreme Court decision.

The court ruled Wednesday a municipal council in Quebec cannot open its meetings with a Catholic prayer, ending an eight-year debate in Saguenay following a complaint by an atheist and a secular-rights organization.

Saguenay’s mayor defended the practice as part of the community’s Roman Catholic heritage.

In Winnipeg, an opening prayer has been recited since the late 1970s, each councillor taking a turn in rotation.

Coun. Devi Sharma, council Speaker, said the city’s legal department is aware of the Supreme Court ruling and is reviewing the practice.

“We will bring forward any recommendations for change… once the review is completed,” Sharma (Old Kildonan) said.

Former St. James councillor Jae Eadie, considered council’s unofficial historian, said the practice of reciting a prayer before council meetings was initiated by Robert Steen during his brief two-year term as mayor in 1977-79.

Eadie said it was a standard prayer similar to the one used in the Manitoba legislature at the time, and it was used for years.

The prayers are often now written by individual councillors and do not reflect any particular religion or faith. Sometimes it’s difficult to determine if there are religious overtones in them.

A prayer is also recited at the start of each day the Manitoba legislature sits.

Premier Greg Selinger said Wednesday he expects Speaker Daryl Reid will “carefully review” the high court’s judgment.

“We’ll study the judgment to make sure that we’re in accord with that and we follow the Supreme Court jurisprudence on that, but we have strong traditions in Manitoba. We’d like to see how they can be maintained,” he said.

Council veteran Jenny Gerbasi said most prayers said by councillors at the start of Winnipeg’s council meetings are secular, adding it would be safe to have the legality of the practice reviewed by the city legal department.

“It’s always wise to get a legal opinion,” Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), said.

“Winnipeg may be on safer ground given we often do a secular prayer. But it can’t hurt to be sure.”

Gerbasi, the longest-serving member of council, first elected in 1998, said she requested councillors be given an option on prayers after she received complaints from atheists and humanist organizations who did not agree only a Christian prayer should be read.

“I think it is important that if we have prayers at council, there should be recognition of the wide variety of faiths and not assume that everyone shares the same Christian faith,” Gerbasi said. “I have used prayers over the years from Buddhist teachings and many other spiritual teachings.”

Every prayer recited at council can be found on the City of Winnipeg’s website.

Mayor Brian Bowman said he wasn’t aware of the court ruling and added the question of prayer doesn’t concern him.

“You’re talking about a practice that’s been done here for decades and decades. I’ve been really concerned with the operations of government. It’s not the top priority right now,” Bowman said.

Bowman had aboriginal elder Harry Bone give the opening prayer at the inaugural council meeting on Nov. 4, which he delivered in Ojibwa.

A civic spokeswoman said there is no formal council policy or provisions in Winnipeg’s procedure bylaw governing the opening prayer.

The clerk’s office is not aware of any formal complaints about the practice.

—with files from Larry Kusch

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca