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It has come to our attention that your Council engages in a Christian ritual at the commencement of Council meetings by reciting "the Lord's Prayer". The Ontario Court of Appeal ruled in the case of Freitag vs. the Town of Penetanguishene (1999) that this practice is illegal and a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights. The ruling applies to all Ontario municipalities. Thus your Council is violating the law of Ontario. We are sure you will agree that it is totally unacceptable in a democratic society for any official government body to act illegally, and we expect that you will, therefore, want to put an end to the offending practice immediately. The concern of SECULAR ONTARIO is that no religious privilege be granted in public affairs to any private faith, and that the law of the Province in this regard be obeyed. We respectfully await your written assurance that you will in future comply with the 1996 Ontario Court ruling. Yours truly, _____________________________ Henry Beissel, President.
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