The bloc motion to end prayer was defeated in the Commons

Conservatives and Liberals opposed it, as well as some New Democrats. According to the preliminary count, the motion was defeated by 266 votes to 56.

The Bloc Québécois wants prayer, starting with Almighty God and ends in Amenor replaced by a moment of contemplation.

Let’s be clear. Every day, the House of Commons of Canada asks a god to protect the British monarchy of which he himself is a religious leader, thus ignoring people who not only can not adhere to a religion, but (for to those) who may say ” my religion is different”, lamented Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet before polling time.

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh, who voted in favor of the motion, said it was important for him to have a separation between church and state as well as a space for all people to express themselves in their own way.

Conservative MP Pierre Paul-Hus, for his part, explained his party’s opposition to the motion by the fact that this question needs to be raised by internal management. He also mentioned that prayer is done behind closed doors.

This is done between deputies, quite simply, before the cameras open, before it becomes public. So it’s up to the deputies. There are, to my knowledge, several representatives of different religious denominations […] which did not raise the issuehe said.

The words of the defeated motion justified the conclusion of the prayer because the House respects the beliefs and non-beliefs of all parliamentarians as well as the population.

The motion also mentionscommitment to the principle of separation of religion and state, to diversity of opinion and to freedom of conscienceas well as respect for secularism and religious neutrality of the state and for the sake of inclusion.

At the Quebec National Assembly, prayer stopped reading in 1976 and was replaced by a moment of contemplation.