Penetanguishene is a town on Georgian Bay, visited in 1615 by Jesuits, and with a name meaning “place of the white rolling sands” in Ojibwa.
And as per an initial 1999 case, Penetanguishene was a key location of an upheld and unanimous 2015 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that held the Lord’s Prayer could not be recited in municipal chambers prior to a council meeting.
During the recent committee of the whole, Mayor Doug Rawson admitted that he crossed that line during the 2022 inaugural meeting of Penetanguishene council. Shortly after being sworn into the new term of council, Rawson called upon Rev. Col. Doug Clark “to perform a blessing for our council.”
At that time, Clark began the prayer by stating that “every soul be subject under the higher powers for there is no power but of God," leading the attendees through recital of the Lord’s Prayer, and adding a personal touch as an addendum for council saying, “I am available for you anytime.”
The 2022 inaugural night was also marked with a performance by the Chigamik Drum Circle with ceremonial ties to Indigenous prayer.
Legal correspondence was sent to council on June 25, 2024, reiterating the Supreme Court ruling and requesting that the municipality commit in writing to making any necessary changes to procedure or bylaws to follow the ruling; an additional comment said the town’s response would dictate how legal matters continue.
“On our inaugural night, I crafted the agenda — that’s not staff; they didn’t have any responsibility,” Rawson affirmed during the recent meeting. “What we wanted to — or what I wanted to create was an open, welcoming inaugural night for us (through invitations to various groups), and we invited a non-denominational faith leader — to participate, to represent our broader community. That's the only time this council has had any form of, what this letter speaks to, prayer.”
Rawson added that the letter requested council to put adherence in the writing of the procedure bylaw, but countered that it was already in the bylaw. “This was a one-off from our inaugural night.”
Chief administrative officer Jeff Lees noted that town staff would respond and “ensure that we do have the appropriate mechanisms in place — vis-a-vis the procedure bylaw — and if we don’t, what’s it going to take to ensure we do.”
A final remark by Rawson to council noted: “I’ll apologize for any oversight, but again it was meant to be an opportunity to be inclusive of our community.”
BradfordToday and InnisfilToday affiliate MidlandToday reached out to Rawson, Lees and town staff regarding the procedure bylaw pertaining to prayer in Penetanguishene council chambers.
As of the time of publication, no response had been received from either Rawson or Lees.
It was noted by town staff that the 2023 procedural bylaw included an addition from the previous 2019 bylaw which stated the mayor elect and clerk were responsible for the format, agenda content, and arrangements of inaugural meetings. The addition appeared in the August 2023 committee of the whole meeting along with many other procedure changes and was approved by council shortly after.
As requested by Rawson during the recent council meeting, staff were directed to craft a letter on the matter, to be included in an upcoming council information package.
