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.
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“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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