Federal departments have designated 934 prayer or “quiet” rooms in government buildings, according to documents tabled in the House of Commons.Blacklock's Reporter says the figures were disclosed in an Inquiry Of Ministry requested by Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux, who asked how many prayer and quiet rooms were located on federal premises.The total does not include another 306 rooms at passport and Employment Insurance offices managed by the Department of Employment and open to the public.Departments said the rooms generally serve multiple purposes and are not necessarily designated exclusively for religious use.“These spaces are available to all employees and may be used for a range of purposes including private conversations, quiet reflection, prayer and informal collaboration,” said the Department of Transport, which reported 63 rooms.“Rooms are not designated or tracked according to specific use, for example ‘prayer room,’ ‘quiet room’ or ‘wellness room,’” the department said.Health Canada reported 101 such rooms.“Health Canada does not have specifically categorized prayer rooms,” the department said. “Isolated, enclosed rooms are categorized as wellness rooms or quiet rooms.”The Public Prosecution Service reported 31 rooms, saying “all quiet rooms can also be used as prayer rooms,” while the Privy Council Office reported 21.The disclosure follows efforts by Amira Elghawaby, then the federal Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, to address religious accommodation for Muslim public servants.“Islamophobia in the workplace looks like many things,” Elghawaby wrote in a 2024 Access To Information memo.“It can manifest when Muslim employees face challenges in accessing reasonable accommodations for religious practices such as prayer breaks, fasting during Ramadan or dress code requirements.”.According to the documents, 2% of federal employees identified as Muslim in a 2024 questionnaire.Records also showed Elghawaby drafted letters in 2025 to deputy ministers concerning issues raised by the Muslim Federal Employees Network, described as a volunteer organization of about 60 people seeking workplace accommodations.The network's Managers’ Guide To Supporting Muslim Employees called for prayer rooms to be provided and outlined the religious requirements surrounding daily prayers.“Muslims have five obligatory prayers a day,” the guide said. “Sometimes up to three of the five prayers occur during a 9 am to 5 pm workday.”The guide said prayers must be performed within specified periods that change from day to day and that prayer breaks typically take between 10 and 15 minutes.It also advised managers about religious practices involving physical contact, saying some Muslims may avoid handshakes with members of the opposite sex for religious reasons.
