Judge’s Decision To Remove Christmas Tree Rankles Residents
Posted December 14, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Justice Marion Cohen ordered a Christmas tree that had stood for years in the lobby of the federal courthouse on Jarvis St. to be moved, because it’s a Christian symbol that could be misinterpreted by those who follow other religions.
“I do not think it appropriate that when the clients of our court enter our courthouse, the first thing they see is a Christian symbol,” she wrote.
“The message to the many non-Christians, who attend our court and are confronted with this symbol, is that they are not part of this institution. It does not belong to them. They are different.”
Court workers are upset with the order and the tree has been taken to another location, where it’s mostly out of sight.
“I don’t think it’s a terribly offensive tree,” feels Susanne Larson. “It’s cute, it’s blue and it’s got little candy canes on it.”
Most wisely refused comment on the controversy, but members of the public weren’t quite so reluctant to vent.
“I think it’s wrong,” condemns Margaret Edwards. “I think that absolutely you can have Christmas celebrations and open it up to other celebrations as well.”
“I think Christmas is a great time for everyone whether you’re Roman Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, whatever,” adds another dissenter. “A Christmas tree is just a sign of friendship and goodwill to everyone.”
“It promotes intolerance,” gripes Adrian Narine. “I just think everybody should be able to express themselves and it’s kind of going against your freedom of expression to block that Christmas tree.”
Even Premier Dalton McGuinty waded into the issue – and he wasn’t happy.
“I think that’s unfortunate,” he begins.
“We’re not asking any one of the wonderful communities that make up our province to somehow abandon their traditions. What we’re saying is let’s share in those opportunities. Let’s better understand those celebrations. So I think it reflects a mistaken understanding of what we’re trying to do here.”
A spokesman for the Attorney General also laments the decision but notes judges have the right to make those determinations in their own courthouses.
Perhaps the greatest irony in all this is that there are 14 trees displayed at Toronto Police Headquarters, there’s the tall one at City Hall and three more at Queen’s Park.
It’s not the first time the seasonal symbol has caused controversy.
Four years ago, the city of Toronto was embroiled in a similar argument over a Christmas tree at Nathan Phillips Square. When local bureaucrats tried to be politically correct and change the name of it to a “holiday tree”, it caused outrage.
Mayor Mel Lastman eventually became involved, introducing a motion to restore the name and admitting that well-meaning staff members had gone too far in the name of multiculturalism.
The Muslim Canadian Congress says even it’s dismayed by the judge’s decision. In the words of its president, “We should ban poltical correctness — not the Christmas tree.”
There’s no immediate sign the judge intends to reverse her decision in this instance, despite the criticism.
Sign up for a del.icio.us account here to save your bookmarks for free online.
