The prayer can be changed to be more inclusive in the Manitoba legislature

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The Manitoba government is trying to change the daily prayer in the legislature to make it more representative of the province's residents, including people of different faiths, atheists and those who believe in secularism in the community.

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“I'm asking religious leaders and people who struggle with issues of secularism and what it means to be a Manitoban today to look at this opening prayer and say, 'Is there a way we can more accurately reflect this moment?' Who are we as Manitobans today?” Prime Minister Wab Kinew said on Thursday.

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“Is there a way we can keep space for people who believe in God and people like me who pray every day, but also include people from different religious traditions, but also people who are proud of secularism. our society, people who may identify as atheists or non-believers.”

The first prayer refers to “the eternal and mighty God.” It states that the members of the Legislature gather before God for the good of the province and pray to pray only for things that are in accordance with God's will. The prayer ends with Amen.

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The potential change is welcomed by Humanist Canada, a group that has campaigned for religious neutrality in government circles.

“Our position is that no prayer of one tradition or another should be recited in any public space,” said the group's president, Martin Frith. There are alternatives, he added, such as silence or meditation.

Some other legislatures have made changes to religious language and symbols in the past decade.

In 2019, the National Assembly of Quebec removed the crucifix from the wall above the speaker's chair and replaced it in a glass case elsewhere in the building.

That same year, the British Columbia legislature expanded the list of model prayers that members could use to open a lawsuit. The expanded list includes more religions and also allows for non-religious reflections.

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In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the municipal council in Saguenay, Que., could not open its meetings with prayer. The Supreme Court found this prayer to be a violation of freedom of conscience and religion.

Kinew said he plans to hold consultations before deciding on any changes.

Any final decision will be made by the legislative rules committee, which includes representatives from the governing NDP, the opposition Progressive Conservatives and the Liberal Party. The committee is chaired by Speaker of the Legislature Tom Lindsay.

It was Lindsey who called for the prayer change, Kinew said.

— With files from Terry Theodore in Vancouver and Giuseppe Valiante in Montreal

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