The City of Moncton Installs Religious Symbols and Emphasizes its Commitment to Inclusivity 2023-12-04

During today’s Regular Council Meeting, Moncton City Council adopted a motion to immediately display the menorah and nativity scene at City Hall.

“There has been a strong reaction to the City of Moncton’s decision not to install the menorah and nativity scene at City Hall. As a growing city, Moncton is continuously evolving its posture with respect to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The City wanted to be more inclusive toward our community by repositioning these faith symbols; however, we obviously fell short in this transition. Despite our best intentions to do the right thing, we acted too quickly, “ said Mayor Dawn Arnold in a statement released earlier in the day. “We apologize if our actions showed a lack of support toward any members of our community.”

Moncton City Council and Administration recognize and are committed to fostering diversity and inclusion where all members of the community feel at home and represented.

The initial decision was reached a short time ago in concert with the City’s Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy; its Social Inclusion Plan; and included discussions with the former New Brunswick commissioner on systemic racism.

“We all want our city to evolve and grow; however, we did miss an important step in the process and didn’t allow ourselves sufficient time to reflect,” says Serge Doucet, the City’s new chief administrative officer. “With a way forward, we will have conversations with the various faith communities in Moncton and see how we can best represent them.”

As a growing and evolving city, Moncton is having to adapt and adjust to new realities.

A second motion to ask the City’s Social Inclusion Committee to consult with the religious communities on how to display religious symbols on city property was also adopted by Moncton City Council. The group’s findings and recommendations are to be brought to Council no later than Aug. 31, 2024.

“We must now focus on finding ways to balance tradition with diversity and inclusion. I am confident we can do so,” says Arnold.

Information:

Communications, City of Moncton
communications@moncton.ca