Terrace City Council has nixed both an inaugural prayer and a traditional nativity display, owing to a Federal Supreme Court Decision from 2015.
In 2007, a complaint was filed against the City of Saguenay, Quebec, over their tradition of holding a prayer ahead of each council meeting.
In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada would rule that, by showing preference to one religion, Saguenay’s use of prayer breached the state’s duty of neutrality.
That decision was cited as the City of Terrace decided, for the first time, not to hold an inaugural prayer when the new council was sworn in on Monday.
But it was also a determining factor in their decision not to allow an annual nativity scene to be displayed on the roof above City Hall.
While the Supreme Court Decision does not ban the display of religious symbols, the City opted to do so as an extension of the cited neutrality.
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