Is it time to replace the House of Commons opening prayer? Yes, says new Bloc motion
Global News
'All Canadians are Christians,' the Bloc MP quoted Sir John A. Macdonald as saying when the latter first proposed an opening prayer in 1877.
Since 1877, members of Parliament from across the country have started their days in the House of Commons with a prayer. Now, the question is: should they continue?
A motion from the Bloc Québécois is up for debate on Tuesday that seeks to replace the prayer read at the opening of each daily sitting of the House of Commons with “a moment of reflection.”
In the motion, Bloc MP Martin Champoux suggests that replacing the prayer with a moment of reflection would show respect for “the beliefs and non-beliefs of all parliamentarians and of the general public.”
He added it would affirm that the House of Commons “is committed to the principle of the separation of religion and the state, the diversity of views and freedom of conscience while upholding the secularism and religious neutrality of the state,” and make the chamber more inclusive.
“What we’re proposing today is to reflect on a practice that has outlived its time and is no longer as relevant as when it was first introduced,” said Champoux, speaking in French on Tuesday morning.
“No one has dared question the prayer, but I humbly believe this is the right thing to do.”
The daily prayer is read out before the House of Commons officially opens its doors to recordings and to visitors in the galleries overlooking the chamber.
It states the following: