Regina group petitions to remove prayer from Sask. legislature

The Regina branch of the Canadian Centre for Inquiry is hoping to get the prayer removed from the daily proceedings at the Saskatchewan legislature.

The group presented a petition on the weekend calling for a more secular government.

A Supreme Court of Canada ruling in 2015 has lead to a debate about Christian-based faith driving public institutions.

The group’s David Richards argues the legislature should be representative of all peoples in the province.

“We feel everyone in the province, whether Christian or not, should be equally-represented by their government,” he Richards argued. “It’s a fairly universal value of most Canadians that they believe their government should be neutral and I think that doesn’t just apply to other places in the country I think that applies to Saskatchewan too.”

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Reacting to news of the petition, Premier Brad Wall contends so long as he is premier the prayer will remain.

The petition also called for the premier’s Christmas message to drop the reference to God.

Richards maintained the group does not have an issue with the message, but how that message from the individual in the position is delivered.

“What we object to is when he is speaking on a government website, when it is using government resources, to promote Christianity.”

 Email smills@cjme.com

 Twitter @smillsSK