January 16, 2014 - 8:28 AM
OTTAWA - The Supreme Court of Canada will hear an appeal in a high-profile Quebec case over whether a municipal council can open its meetings with a prayer.
The suit pits atheist Alain Simoneau and a secular-rights organization against Saguenay Mayor Jean Tremblay.
In 2011, Quebec's human rights tribunal ordered an end to the prayers, demanded that a crucifix in the city council chamber be removed and awarded damages to Simoneau.
The mayor fought back, raising money from religion supporters through a website and the provincial court of appeal overturned the tribunal last year.
The court said that reciting a prayer does not violate the religious neutrality of the city and if the recitation interfered with Simoneau’s moral values, the interference was trivial.
The Supreme Court decision to hear the case comes as Quebec wrestles with the controversial secular values charter proposed by the Parti Quebecois government.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014