matty wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 9:28am:

   



Daily Proceedings



Each of the three events in the Daily Proceedings—Prayers, Statements by Members and Oral Questions—is covered separately in the Standing Orders.

*   Prayers

Prior to the doors of the Chamber being opened to the public at the beginning of each sitting of the House, the Speaker takes the Chair and proceeds to read the prayer, after it has been determined that a quorum of 20 Members including the Chair Occupant is present, and before any business is considered.[4] While the prayer is being read, the Speaker, the Members and the Table Officers all stand. The prayer is by custom read partly in French and partly in English. When the prayer is finished, the House pauses for a moment of silence for private thought and reflection. At the end of the moment of silence, the Speaker orders the doors opened. At this point, television coverage of the proceedings commences and the public may enter the galleries.[5]

Historical Perspective

Although the practice of reading a prayer at the start of each sitting was not codified in the Standing Orders until 1927,[6] it has been part of the daily proceedings of the House since 1877. At that time, the House charged a committee to consider the desirability of using a form of prayer in the Chamber.[7] In its report, the committee recommended that the proceedings of the House should be opened each day with the reading of a prayer, and included therein a suggested form of prayer.[8] In a discussion that immediately followed the concurrence in the committee report, it was determined that the prayer would be read prior to the doors of the House being opened, as was the practice of the Senate of Canada and the British House of Commons.[9]

Much later, suggestions were made to rewrite or reword the prayer in a non‑sectarian form and to have the prayer read by a chaplain instead of the Speaker.[10] Recommendations have also been made to change the way the House takes up the prayer. Over the years, many Members have expressed the view that the public should be admitted before the prayer is read.[11] In 1976, the House adopted a motion recommending that the Standing Orders be changed in order to allow the public to enter the galleries before the prayer was read. However, the motion was worded as a recommendation, not as an Order, and provided no instruction for implementing the change. For that reason, the Speaker indicated that the practice of reciting the prayer prior to the admission of the public would continue until the Standing Committee on Procedure and Organization considered the matter and reported to the House; however, no further action was taken on this matter.[12] There have been, nonetheless, rare instances when the public has heard the prayer.[13]

Until 1994, no major change to the form of the prayer[14] was made aside from references to royalty.[15] At that time, the House concurred in a report recommending a new form of prayer more reflective of the different religions embraced by Canadians.[16] This prayer was read for the first time when the House met to open its proceedings on February 21, 1994:[17]

Almighty God, we give thanks for the great blessings which have been bestowed on Canada and its citizens, including the gifts of freedom, opportunity and peace that we enjoy. We pray for our Sovereign, Queen Elizabeth, and the Governor General. Guide us in our deliberations as Members of Parliament, and strengthen us in our awareness of our duties and responsibilities as Members. Grant us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to preserve the blessings of this country for the benefit of all and to make good laws and wise decisions. Amen.

There has been no explicit pronouncement on when French and English are to be used in reading the prayer. When the reading of the prayer was first sanctioned in 1877, it was agreed that the prayer would be read in the language most familiar to the Speaker.[18] Two years later, Speaker Blanchet, the Commons’ first bilingual Speaker, inaugurated the practice of reading the prayer in French and English on alternate days.[19] From then until the 1970s, many Speakers, depending on

John Smith wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 9:24am:


Of course I know what it is saying, and I have already said that I am not perfect.

LOL the same old loony fringe defending this fairy tale known as Christianity, too funny.

____ wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 5:49am:



Good idea.

There's absolutely no legitimate reason for any (sane) person to object to this proposal.

It'll happen.

woody2014 wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 9:31am:


Oh okay, thanks.

The Greens don't seem to understand that they are just not popular with the electorate at large, they seem to think that they are more popular than they actually are. They rceived just 8% of the vote.

skippy. wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 9:33am:


The only loony fringe here are the Greens and their 8% of supporters.

matty wrote on Jan 15^th, 2014 at 9:38am:

See what I mean? They  never let me down.