Early voting held on Outremont houses of worship ban

Outremont residents took part in advance voting on a bylaw that would ban new places of worship on Sunday.

The bylaw, passed earlier this year, bans new houses of worship on Bernard Ave. as part of an effort to promote business growth on the street.

Members of the borough’s Hasidic community have called the regulation discriminatory, as Jewish rules prohibiting the use of cars on the Sabbath makes their faith impossible to practice without synagogues within walking distance.

A similar ban was also put in place on Laurier Ave., though a petition calling for its repeal did not garner enough signatures to trigger a referendum.

Polls are open until 8 p.m. and regular voting will take place on Nov. 20.