SAGUENAY, Quebec, March 2, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Mayor Jean Tremblay of Saguenay, Quebec, who announced last month his intention to appeal a Human Rights Tribunal decision banning civic prayer and religious symbols, is being attacked for adhering to his staunch Christian convictions.
The Mouvement laïque québécois (Quebec Secular Movement), which launched the complaints with the Human Rights Tribunal (HRT) and took Tremblay to court last February, sent the Catholic mayor a letter on Tuesday ordering him to obey the court decision by ceasing prayer at council meetings and removing religious symbols or face legal action. Usually such requests have a 30-day leeway period; however, the Secular Movement’s letter gave the mayor only 48 hours to comply with their request.
The HRT ruled last month that Tremblay’s brief prayers at the beginning of council meetings infringe on people’s freedom of conscience. Mayor Tremblay was ordered to pay the plaintiff $30,000 and remove a crucifix and Sacred Heart statue that are in the city’s council rooms.
The Secular Movement’s lawyer, Luc Alarie, said this week that the court decision was enough to ban prayer, even if the city plans to appeal. “If you don’t respect the provisions of the judgment, there are consequences and the (provincial) Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms indicates people can be found in contempt of the tribunal and fined up to $50,000,” Alarie said.
Tremblay expressed surprise at the movement’s 48 hour notice, but has said he will only back down if a legal order forces him to do so. He said he has referred the letter to the city’s lawyer and likely will continue with the practice of prayer at the next meeting on March 7.
Meanwhile, a group in Saguenay, calling themselves Citoyens pour la démocratie à Saguenay, has launched a campaign to oppose the mayor’s religious convictions. The group has posted a YouTube video in which citizens of Saguenay appear one by one saying that the mayor does not speak in their name.
“If we want to be open as a society and get everyone to participate, we have to keep our institutions secular,” said Stéphane Dufour, a spokesman for the group. “We didn’t elect Mr. Tremblay for his religious convictions.”
However, Tremblay has maintained that his Catholic faith is more important to him than his political career. “That’s the strength of a politician: holding his banner high against all odds when it’s a matter of principle and he believes he’s right,” he said. “If the people don’t agree with me, they’ll let me know during the next election.”
Tremblay has initiated a campaign to raise funds to support his appeal of the HRT decision through a toll-free hotline, posted on the city’s website, where supporters can donate to the cause. The city has already received $118,000 in donations from across Canada and the United States.
“There are lots of people outside (of Saguenay) — who have their convictions, who want our traditions to be respected, who see a threat to our heritage and to our culture — who have sent us donations,” Tremblay said.
Tremblay has pleaded with Quebecers and all Canadians to fight for Quebec’s religious tradition. Quebec, he says, has become too “meek” in bowing to religious minorities.
“I didn’t go into politics just to do accounting. I went into politics to make society advance, and a society advances as long as it’s supported by values,” he said. “A serious problem we’ve got in today’s society is that we’ve abandoned our values. That’s why things are going so badly.”
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