Mouvement laïque québécois v Saguenay (City)
supreme Court of Canada case
Mouvement laïque québécois v Saguenay (City) [2015] S.C.R., 2015 SCC 41 is a Canadian administrative law case, dealing with the effect of a prayer held at the beginning of a municipal council session on the state's duty of neutrality in relation to freedom of conscience and freedom of religion. The decision upheld an earlier decision by the Quebec Human Rights Tribunal, ordering the Saguenay council to stop recitation of the prayer and rendering the by-law supporting such prayer inoperable, as well as imposing $30,000 in compensatory and punitive damages. The ruling has implications for all levels of government in Canada, and several cities announced changes to drop the use of prayers before municipal meetings.
Background
The City of Saguenay mayor Jean Tremblay (2002 to 2015) opened public city council sessions by reciting the following prayer:
O God, eternal and almighty, from Whom all power and wisdom flow, we are assembled here in Your presence to ensure the good of our city and its prosperity. We beseech You to grant us the enlightenment and energy necessary for our deliberations to promote the honour and glory of Your holy name and the spiritual and material [well-being] of our city. Amen.
Tremblay would also make the sign of the Cross while saying "in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit," in the Roman Catholic tradition. Council chambers in La Baie and Chicoutimi, two communities amalgamated with Saguenay, featured a crucifix and a Sacred Heart emblem.
In 2006, Alain Simoneau, an atheist who regularly attended council meetings, asked Tremblay to stop the prayers, claiming that they infringed on his freedom of conscience. When Tremblay refused, the Mouvement laïque québécois (MLQ), a non-profit organization supporting secularization, filed a complaint with the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse on his behalf.
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