OLDCORN: If Regina can hear the Islamic call to prayer — why must Christianity stay quiet?

REGINA — Canada’s establishment has spent years telling Christians to keep their faith private.Don’t pray here. Don’t mention Jesus there. Rename the Christmas concert. Drop the Lord’s Prayer. Tone down the Christian language. Make everything “inclusive.”Yet a Regina mosque has been permitted to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer over loudspeakers in the heart of the city.That changes the conversation..Regina City Jamia Masjid has received permission to broadcast the Adhan for roughly three minutes on Fridays for the next year. The practice began under a Regina Police Service permit issued through the city’s noise rules. After the mosque paused the broadcasts and “consulted” with neighbours, the permit process continued on a week-to-week basis.Fine.Muslims have religious freedom in Canada. They should.So do Christians.That second sentence is where Canada’s bureaucratic class seems to get uncomfortable..Look at the Canadian Armed Forces.In 2023, the Chaplain General imposed a directive requiring chaplains at mandatory military functions to use so-called inclusive spiritual reflections rather than traditional faith-specific prayers. The policy does not literally ban every use of the word God, but it pressures chaplains to remove explicitly religious language from public ceremonies and warns that failure to comply could result in administrative or disciplinary action..SLOBODIAN: Atheists pushing God ban on military chaplains (again).Think about how absurd that is.A chaplain’s job is to be religious.A Christian chaplain should be allowed to say God. He should be allowed to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. A Muslim chaplain should be able to pray as a Muslim. A Jewish chaplain should be able to pray as a Jew.If an Islamic declaration of faith can be amplified over downtown Regina, a military chaplain should not have to run his prayer through a government-approved inclusive language filter.The same principle should apply in schools.Saskatchewan’s Education Act, Section 182, still allows a board of education to direct that a school day begin with the Lord’s Prayer or a Bible reading, with provisions for students to be excused.School boards should use that authority..Bring back the Lord’s Prayer.Bring back Christmas pageants.Bring back Easter celebrations.Stop pretending the words “Christmas” and “Easter” are dangerous while every other religious or cultural expression is treated as something Canadians must respectfully accommodate.Canada did not come from some historical vacuum.Its institutions, holidays, legal traditions, charities, hospitals, and schools were shaped in large part by Christianity. Statistics Canada found 53.3% of Canadians identified as Christian in the 2021 census, while 4.9% identified as Muslim.Canada’s cultural inheritance is overwhelmingly Christian, not Islamic.That does not make Muslim Canadians lesser citizens. It makes historical reality, the historical reality.Even the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms begins by recognizing “the supremacy of God and the rule of law.”.Then there is the Sean Feucht fiasco.The American Christian worship singer saw multiple Canadian appearances cancelled in 2025 as municipalities and venues cited safety, security, and other concerns.Montreal went even further.An evangelical church that hosted Feucht was handed a $2,500 ticket after the city said it lacked the proper concert permit. The church and evangelical leaders maintained it was a religious worship gathering..Montreal church fined $2,500 for hosting MAGA-supporting Christian artist Sean Feucht.These were not death-metal concerts or all-night raves.They were Christians singing praise and worship songs — the same type of music heard in evangelical churches across Canada every weekend.Apparently, amplified Muslim worship can be treated as diversity, while amplified Christian worship risks becoming a permitting problem.Regina churches should put that double standard to the test..Apply for the same type of lawful accommodation the mosque received.Three minutes before Sunday service.Play Amazing Grace or How Great Thou Art. Ring the church bells. Read a Psalm over the speakers.Follow the noise rules. Follow the permit conditions. Match the same reasonable volume and duration.Then watch what happens.If officials defend the mosque’s right to broadcast the Adhan but suddenly discover grave concerns when a church broadcasts a hymn, Canadians will have their answer.Religious freedom cannot operate on a sliding scale.Either public expressions of faith are acceptable, or they are not.If Regina can hear the call to Islamic prayer every Friday, there is no credible reason Canadians should be told Christianity must remain silent on Sunday.

OLDCORN: If Regina can hear the Islamic call to prayer — why must Christianity stay quiet?

Related Stories

DIOTTE: Canada's military is silencing chaplains while Parliament still prays

Saskatchewan municipal spending report reveals wide gaps between cities and towns

Nearly 1,000 prayer and quiet rooms designated in federal buildings

EXCLUSIVE: MRU prof says school's neutrality 'creeping' away as meditation space becomes Muslim prayer room