The District of Tobique Valley has ended its longstanding practice of opening council meetings with the Lord's Prayer after a national humanist organization threatened legal action.

Mayor Aaron Jones announced the change at the start of Monday night's council meeting, replacing the customary prayer with a prepared statement.

"After careful consideration, the council of the District of Tobique Valley, in consultation with our legal counsel, has decided to no longer recite the Lord's Prayer at the opening of council meetings," Jones told those in attendance.

Go Ad Free

Jones said the decision followed legal advice and was made to comply with the Supreme Court of Canada's 2015 decision in Mouvement laïque québécois v. Saguenay. In that ruling, the court found that prayers at municipal council meetings violate a municipality's duty of religious neutrality and infringe on the Charter's protections for freedom of conscience and religion.

The change came after the BC Humanist Association threatened legal action on behalf of local residents Carol Marsh and Brian Vincent, who objected to the practice. The organization gave the municipality until July 10 to respond before referring the matter for legal review.

The Lord's Prayer had traditionally been recited at the beginning of council meetings in the community. Monday's meeting marked the first time council opened without it.

The decision follows the Supreme Court's guidance that government bodies must remain religiously neutral and avoid practices that could be seen as endorsing a particular faith.