Could our premier look before he leaps?
Editorial

Premier Dalton McGuinty has announced he wants to change the way daily business is started at the Provincial legislature at Queen's Park, and that specifically means doing away with the traditional recitation of the Lord's Prayer.

We can see a certain amount of merit to this idea. The premier is evidently trying to make the process in the legislature more inclusive, or at least make it into something that he deems to be more inclusive.

But we have to wonder about the way he's going about this. In the first place, why did this idea come up last week without warning. And why is it evident that there was no consultation with any of the the MPPs around.

Oak Ridges - Markham MPP Dr. Helena Jaczek gave no indication that she was consulted, and she added she had heard no calls to have the prayer dropped from the routine at Queen's Park.

York - Simcoe MPP Julia Munro said she heard no such calls either. And since last week's announcement, Munro said all the reaction she has heard has been negative.

"Before Mr. McGuinty raised this idea, I had never heard from any of my constituents about the issue. Residents of York-Simcoe care more about making sure they have good paying jobs, a health care system that works and an education system that helps provide our kids with the skills and good start they need."

So we are left to wonder what the fuss is all about.

True, the Lord's Prayer is basically a Christian tradition, and not all members of the legislature are of that faith, nor are many of their constituents. But it's recitation is a tradition that has been around for more than a century, one that is important to many in Ontario and one that does no one any harm.

The Lord's Prayer, in essence, praises God, pledges devotion, asks for His help, asks for His forgiveness for failure and promises to forgive others. Where's the offensive part of that?

And if it was offensive to anyone, why has there not been more outcry before now? For that matter, why hasn't there been any outcry?

It could also be argued that any kind of prayer in such a setting might be out of date, or redundant. It is true that King Township councillors don't have any prayers recited at the start of their meetings, and things seem to go reasonably well. And there are no such prayers spoken at York Regional council.

But in nearby Peel Region, the council there opens its meetings with with a generic prayer, and the council in the Town of Caledon some years ago adopted an area-specific version to recite at its meetings.

According to a report in Thursday's Toronto Star, the Lord's Prayer is recited at the start of council meetings in the City of Brampton and Mississauga, but not Toronto. There, they start their meetings with what is known as a minute of "personal reflection."

The House of Commons in Ottawa adopted a a nons prayer a couple of years ago.

No one has suggested the Lord's Prayer should have a monopoly on the expressions of faith in the legislature. Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory said as much in the letter he issued to Mcguinty in reply to his announcement.

"Part of respecting the tradition of the legislature is keeping the Lord's Prayer," he stated. "That doesn't mean we wouldn't be open to other prayers being added, but a starting assumption that we would eliminate the Lord's Prayer would not be acceptable to us."

There are alternatives to the Lord's Prayer, if people find that necessary. There are also other prayers that could be recited, possibly on a rotating basis, that could appeal to those of other faiths, while keeping the Lord's Prayer, both in respect of those of a particular faith, and in respect of the traditions that formed the institutions that govern this inclusive society.

Maybe the time for prayer in the legislature has passed. If so, then so be it.

But would it hurt the premier to consult with people to see what they believe and would like to see?

Isn't that really the essence of being inclusive?