“I truly believe and based on all the discussion that has been done in the past, that it doesn’t have to be in city council where it is a secular institution. This is a place where we make decisions and it was originally put there to support decision making,” Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said. “I think we’re in a very different time now.”

Plante added that the decision is a “recognition of the role of secularism in the institution, and for me, there is a stark distinction between individual and institutional secularism,” she said, according to the CBC.

After the decision was announced, the Archdiocese of Montreal issued a statement saying that

the crucifix is a symbol of the Christian roots of Canada and doesn’t need to be removed in a religiously pluralistic society.

Immigration Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette of Quebec, who backed the religious symbols bill, told CTV News that the National Assembly does not have to follow the decision of Montreal to remove their crucifix.

“They can do what they want about that. The National Assembly has always decided to maintain (the crucifix) and that’s the position of the government because it’s a (historical) symbol,” he said.

Full article here.

Photo credit:  Andrea Junqueira on Unsplash