Kelowna city council will reaffirm its oath of office rather than pray before Tuesday night meetings.
That solution was reached Monday as a way of appeasing a recent Supreme Count of Canada ruling banning the practice of prayer at council meetings.
Mayor Colin Basran announced the decision following Monday's regular meeting.
"Council still believes it to be important to have a moment of reflection before starting our regular meetings on Tuesday nights. So, today, we have decided to reaffirm our oath of office at the start of public meetings," said Basran.
"We all, myself included, will take turns reaffirming our oath of office as a reminder that the decisions we make are often difficult and we are all here doing our best to guide our city to the best of our abilities."
Basran provided an example of what that oath might sound like.
"We gather here this evening to perform the duties of council. May we act faithfully and with integrity. May we abide by the statutes, bylaws and policies that govern the city. May we promote openness, accountability and responsible leadership. May we provide good stewardship of public assets and programs and, finally, may we always consider the well being and interests of the community as a whole leading to the development of a safe, vibrant and sustainable city."
While the city has yet to run the idea past its legal team, Basran believes they are on safe legal ground.
"We take the oath of office after we are elected, and that wasn't subject to the court ruling. This was specifically a prayer in council chambers, which this is clearly not."
Council did mull over a number of options, including a moment of silence, but Basran said council felt something needed to be said.
"Something that was significant but still allowed us an opportunity to reflect. We felt this does exactly that."
Basran said he expects to hear from the public concerning council's decision.
"This is something everybody has an opinion on, one way or the other," said Basran.
"This is one of those decisions where we know we are not going to please everybody, but we believe this is the best way to move forward."
The new oath will be read beginning on Tuesday night.