Could our premier maybe 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.

MPPs we consulted gave no indication they knew this was coming, nor had they heard any calls to have the prayer dropped.

"Zero, not a single statement," declared Dufferin - Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones. "It came out completely out of the blue."

"It is important that we respect and maintain the traditions and history of the Ontario legislature," she declared. "Part of that tradition is opening the parliamentary day with the Lord's Prayer."

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It could also be argued that any kind of prayer in such a setting might be out of date, or redundant.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 Peel Regional council still opens its meetings with a generic prayer, recited by one of the members, and the council in the Town of Caledon some years ago adopted an area-specific version to recite at its meetings.

But in nearby 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 either.

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 non-sect 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 people 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 at least consult with people to see what they believe and would like to see?

Isn't that really the essence of being inclusive?