Answering your prayers

On top of that, both of these council chambers also have a crucifix prominently displayed, as does Quebec's National Assembly. Premier Jean Charest went on record last week stating the Christian cross in the provincial legislature will stay, citing historical significance, thus in direct defiance of the Bouchard-Taylor commission's much-anticipated report on “reasonable accommodation” for ethnic and religious minorities. The report, made public last Thursday, also calls for banning prayers at city council meetings, an issue that has come up many times in the province, including cases before Quebec's Human Rights Commission, which has argued these prayers go against a city's obligation as a public entity to remain neutral when it comes to religion.

The West Island is dotted with religious institutions. There are many Christian ones, such as Catholic, Protestant and Coptic Orthodox, but there are also Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Sikh places of worship. There is no shortage of places for West Islanders to gather and pray in a communal setting. Do municipal politicians really need to show their faith and devotion before each public council meeting? Ironically, the Pierrefonds administration decided about a decade ago to no longer allow any new zoning for more places of worship. Didn't the Québécois go through the Quiet Revolution and advocate the separation of church and state? Yes, the Catholic Church played an important role in the development of the province and that can be reflected in our society but the government should do more to be inclusive. While keeping the cross is considered symbolic, symbols do matter, especially following Charest's insistence on holding the Bouchard-Taylor hearings that cost $3.7 million. However, there are more important recommendations in the report than the cross relocation in Quebec City and prayer issue. Hopefully, Charest will address some of the recommendations, which call for better funding of groups that assist immigrants in adapting, deal with the high unemployment rate among newcomers from Africa and set up a task force to review the problem of under representation of ethnic minorities in public administration. If Charest comes through on these more practical matters, he could be forgiven for his lapse in judgment on the cross issue.