National Assembly restaurant backtracks after refusing reservation for Quebec church group

Speaker of the National Assembly Nathalie Roy says it was a "mistake" after a church group was refused when they tried to make dinner reservations at Le Parlementaire, the restaurant at the provincial legislature.

A representative of the group of around 50 people, including a dozen clergy members, submitted an email request to make a reservation. An employee declined in an emailed response, citing the "neutrality" of the National Assembly and describing the gathering as one linked to a "religious movement."

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Roy set out to clarify the restaurant's rules. She said while religious events such as marriage ceremonies are not permitted at Le Parlementaire, there are no restrictions on group reservations such as the one requested by the members of the Anglican Church.

"Everyone is welcome," said Roy. She noted that the employee who refused the request had not consulted with a supervisor.

Bruce Myers, the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, said the incident was concerning.

"I guess I could say 10 per cent of me wasn't surprised because of the current climate around laïcité and secularism," said Myers. "I will confess a small part of me thought this was one of the possible responses, but when I was actually looking at the email I was still somewhat stupefied that this was the answer we received."

Heated conversations over secularism have resurfaced in the province, in the wake of a controversy over the conduct of 11 teachers at Bedford Elementary School in Cote-des-Neiges. Following an education ministry investigation, the teachers were suspended and stripped of their teaching licences.

The investigation revealed "a dominant clan" of teachers allegedly created a toxic environment for students and staff. Premier François Legault called the case "disturbing" and said the teachers were trying to introduce "Islamist" beliefs in the classroom.

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Myers suggested the latest political debate about secularism could have unintended consequences.

"There's a debate about what happened in the Bedford school that's ongoing. So, how does this particular incident in the restaurant connect in any way to that? What kind of laïcité do we want to have in Quebec?" he asked.

"For me it's a bit of a slippery slope," said Myers. "Today, it's a church group that's denied access to a restaurant at the National Assembly. What group is it tomorrow that's denied access to a public space? A group of citizens that just also happen to be exercising their fundamental human right to be practitioners of a religious faith, whatever that faith happens to be."

Myers added that the point of his group’s gathering was simply to have dinner — and not to engage in any religious practices, as he believes the restaurant employee assumed.

"All we ever asked about was availability, what the menu might look like and how much it's going to cost. So, there were clearly some liberties taken at some point," said Myers.

"The church is based on grace and so we'll extend the grace of assuming this was an innocent mistake, but at the same time we think are some important larger societal questions that need to be asked about laïcité, secularism, public spaces and who has the right to block some of those spaces to certain groups and on what basis."