City of Hamilton passes watered-down motion on Christian Heritage Month

A motion before Hamilton City Council to support Christian Heritage Month was watered to a general support of Christian faith.

The province of Saskatchewan and almost 40 municipal bodies have proclaimed December to be Christian Heritage Month. Hamilton Councillor Esther Pauls introduced a motion on December 11 for her city to follow.

"Therefore, let it be resolved that the City of Hamilton supports local Christian faith groups, families and individuals as they celebrate Christian Heritage Month," the motion read.

Coun. Ted McMeekins, a former Ontario Liberal MPP, said the city does not do such proclamations, but may participate in ones declared by the provincial or federal governments. He acknowledged that constituents pushed back when he told them that's where they should take their request.

"People would write back and say, 'Well, what? Why? This seems so simple. Why doesn't the city do this?'" McMeekins recalled.

"April is Muslim heritage month, November is Hindu heritage Month. January is Tamil heritage month, April is Sikh heritage month. We even have an Asian heritage month, Black History Month, a woman's History Month. And so there are lots of months out there that have already been designated that we can celebrate," the councillor explained.

Councillor Maureen Wilson said Christians in her ward didn't want the month. "I've had very rich conversations as a result with very faithful parishioners, reverends, pastors in Ward 1 and unanimously, they were not supportive of the motion."

Wilson added, "Yes, December and Christmas is a huge holiday, but for many, the celebrations don't have anything to do with the birth of Jesus. It is in the practice of Advent, which is a time of waiting and hoping." She also pointed out some faith traditions celebrate Christmas in January.

Coun. Brad Clark, who seconded Pauls' motion, said, "I see this motion as being relatively benign. I see the intent is to support local Christian faith groups, families and individuals..."

Coun. Alex Wilson responded, "I'm not on for this...I don't think this is an activity we should be engaged in as a city, not anything specific to this activity being proposed."

In 1995, the Hamilton city council banned all proclamations to avoid issuing a Gay Pride Week proclamation. This decision came after an Ontario Human Rights ruling that Hamilton Mayor Bob Morrow discriminated against homosexuals when he refused to issue a proclamation in 1991. Morrow was ordered to pay $5,000 to the complainant and to issue a proclamation the following year if requested. However, the council instead banned all proclamations.

Clerk Matthew Trennum said Pauls' motion was not a proclamation, however. "This is simply a sentiment to say to the community that is celebrating in this way that...we basically support their ability to or their desire to have their celebration," Trennum explained.

Councillor Cameron Kroetsch said he supported religious freedom, but objected because the title of its motion suggested a proclamation and that members of the public he spoke to consistently had the same interpretation.

"Councillor Clark's not wrong in terms of the fact that it's benign. But is this body just going to do a lot of benign work? I don't understand that practice. So for those reasons, and a couple more, I'm not supporting it," Kroetsch said.

Pauls amended the motion to say that the city would support "local Christians, families and individuals, as they celebrate their faith." This motion was passed 11-2, with Alex Wilson and Kroetsch remaining opposed.

City documents showed 40 citizens, including some clergy, had expressed their support for the motion. Solomon Ikhuiwu, who was one of them, told Western Standard the amended motion passed by council had little weight.

"They're just very far left and like these guys are trained activists, right? And you could feel the tension in the room. You can feel the atmosphere."

Ikhuiwu said Pauls was the victim of "manipuation" and "bullying" and was "eaten alive" by her colleagues that included texts being sent to her during the debate.

"She was crying at the end of it and telling us she did her best. I felt for her," Ikhuiwu said.

Debate starts at the 3 hour 1 minute mark below.