(Ottawa) Will religious practices make their way into the august Center Block of Parliament in the wake of the costly renovations taking place there until 2030?
What there is to know
- The Center Block of Parliament is undergoing renovations until 2030.
- A Commons committee decided to reserve a room for smudging ceremonies.
- We are studying the possibility of also using this room for religious practices.
- The Bloc Québécois is fiercely opposed to it.
At least that is what the Bloc Québécois fears, which takes a dim view of the openness shown by other political parties to this possibility.
As part of major renovations to the Center Block expected to cost $4.5 billion to $5 billion, it was decided that a room on the fourth floor would be reserved for smudging ceremonies and lighting of a qulliq. The Bloc Québécois supports this idea, which is part of a process of reconciliation with indigenous peoples.
But Yves-François Blanchet’s troops are speaking out against the option, raised by other political groups, that this same room could also have a multi-faith function when it is not used for its primary purposes, according to information obtained. by The Press.
Warning from the Block
The Bloc Québécois also warns the Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and the New Democratic Party against the idea of embarking on this slippery slope, which according to it undermines the necessary separation of state and religion.
Especially since Justin Trudeau’s government, for several years, has already been taking steps to set up prayer rooms in the buildings where federal civil servants work.
Since 2015, Ottawa has in fact set up around fifty multi-faith rooms in 46 federal buildings across the country, reported The Press in May. Six of these rooms were set up in Quebec, more precisely in federal buildings located in Gatineau, in the federal capital region. In addition, the Department of Defense also plans to set up prayer rooms in the new facilities that will be built near the hangars that will be used to house the new F-35 fighter planes in Bagotville and Cold Lake.
“We have always clearly spoken out in favor of the secularism of the State. We do not want religion to enter the new parliament,” indicated the whip of the Bloc Québécois, MP Claude DeBellefeuille, who is a member of the Bureau of Internal Economy (BIS), this committee of MPs who look into the progress of the renovation work.
“Primarily for Indigenous people”
On Thursday, the BIS agreed to the creation of a room reserved for smudging ceremonies and the lighting of a qulliq. But MPs postponed any decision regarding the use of this room for other purposes, having failed to find consensus on this issue due to opposition from the Bloc Québécois.
The BIS normally relies on a consensus of the parties before deciding on a case. This is a tradition, but it is not part of the written rules of operation of the BIS.
“We agree with the idea of creating a room in honor of Aboriginal people and First Nations. This is important to us and there is consensus. But we should not take this pretext to establish that while the First Nations are not using it, we could make room for religious practices,” explained Mr.me DeBellefeuille in an interview with The Press.
For us, religion is on one side; the State is on the other side. We don’t want to put religion in parliament.
Claude DeBellefeuille, Bloc Québécois whip
During Thursday’s meeting, Conservative MP Chris d’Entremont agreed that the room in question would primarily be used by First Nations, but he noted that religious groups who burn incense, for example, could also use it. use since the room would be equipped with a smoke detector designed specifically for this type of use.
“The Orthodox, for example, use a lot of incense. So we could use this room for these practices too […]. But at the same time, we know that it is mainly a room for Aboriginal people. So a little bit, but not a lot,” he said.
For her part, Liberal MP Ruby Sahota pleaded for elected officials to adopt a policy of flexibility. “I think there should be some flexibility. We have flexibility almost everywhere in the rooms here [quant à la façon dont] we use meeting rooms and committee rooms. […] I think that there would still be a certain openness for other cultural events [y soient tenus] or that other cultures can use it,” she said.
These comments make the Bloc Québécois fear the worst.
“We don’t want there to be a slide,” said M.me DeBellefeuille. “We tried to have morning prayer removed from the House of Commons. It did not work. But we hope that in 10 years, when the new parliament opens, prayer will finally be put aside. We will have understood that we do not mix religion in Parliament. But we are not going to help ensure that parliament 2.0 will create a room that could be used for multi-faith functions. We cannot agree to this. »