The BC Humanist Association says it will sue the City of Parksville unless the city decides to ban prayer from all of its meetings.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/19670880

“The 2015 decision by the Supreme Court in Saguenay, (QC), prohibits municipal councils from including prayer in their meetings and in the last two inaugural meetings, in 2018 and 2022, Parksville has included prayers, overtly religious prayers, in their inaugural meetings and that’s a violation of the constitution,” said Teale Phelps Bondaroff, the research coordinator with the BC Humanist Association.

https://www.bchumanist.ca/donate

  • hydration9806
    66·
    7 months ago

    If you watch municipal or provincial news conferences it’s fairly common to hear a First Nation blessing at its start, like a recent one in front of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Tuesday.

    “The increase in Indigenous content is a good sign. It shows that municipalities are stepping up and, at least symbolically, embracing reconciliation and this is also a category of action that falls outside the Supreme Court ruling in Saguenay,” said Phelps Bondaroff.

    Honest question: isn’t having the First Nation blessing violating the same constitution that the prayer is? Obviously the prayer is an obvious violation, but replacing it doesn’t seem to be the answer as far as I can tell.

    • Victor Villas@beehaw.org
      141·
      7 months ago

      First Nations blessing is a bit of a gray area because they are not necessarily performed as a religious practice. Instead of a prayer, it’s interpreted (by those present) more like a First Nations representative formally acknowledging that the decisions about to be made are made with their participation.

      It’s a cultural complexity that elders are often also seen as religious leaders and they’ll often speak in religious terms, but their blessing is foremost under the guise of a representative - not a cleric.

      As for a regular Christian prayer… its sole purpose is a ritual for those in that religion.

    • TSG_Asmodeus (he, him)@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      7 months ago

      If you watch municipal or provincial news conferences it’s fairly common to hear a First Nation blessing at its start, like a recent one in front of Nanaimo Regional General Hospital on Tuesday.

      What’s weird is the video doesn’t show it, and the article doesn’t quote it. That said, I think if anything, it’s a fantastic compromise. Now not only are we removing direct religious action, we’re replacing it with something that helps with reconciliation.

      I would also argue there’s a pretty large difference between people in power using their own religion to open an event like this, and people in power giving space to those without power to open an event.

    • BCsven@lemmy.ca
      5·
      7 months ago

      I would say it’s because our white-man* laws came after, and the typical indigenous pretext at meetings is acknowledging that we are gathered on the unceded territory. So really they are letting us have a meeting with their blessing/permission.

      Also they say unceded as a nice way; instead of juat saying stolen with acts of genocide.

      *or woman ~ Monty Python

    • Hootz@lemmy.ca
      51·
      7 months ago

      It’s because it’s not religion, it’s spiritually and culture. Shit bro most of them doing the things are Christians or Catholic