Edmonton city council voted Tuesday to no longer have a moment of reflection to start council meetings.
In September, executive committee decided it would recommend city council no longer introduce a moment of reflection before each meeting.
According to administrators, a staff member would have been hired to oversee the reflection periods, which councillor Michael Oshry didn’t support.
“I just think it’s not a necessity and I think our dollars would be spent better with hiring another bylaw enforcement officer or development permit officer or something more concrete,” Oshry said before the vote.
“I don’t think we need to read a poem to get into the mood to be able to do city business.”
READ MORE: No more prayers at Edmonton city council meetings
In April 2015, the practice of council meetings starting with a prayer ended at Edmonton’s city hall after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled the municipal council in the Quebec town of Saguenay could not open its meetings with a prayer.
The Supreme Court decision applied only to the Quebec charter, but the issue was debated across Canada regarding possible implications to the Canadian charter.
In Edmonton, a decision was made to hold a moment of reflection instead of a prayer.
Other councillors said the multifaith prayers were important to them. Coun. Scott McKeen said he misses the prayers, adding they made him feel grounded before a meeting.
With files from 630 CHED
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