Another flip-flop on religious gathering limits
Synagogues can't have multiple separated groups in one building
Quebec has once again reversed course on its guidelines surrounding gatherings in places of worship after a tumultuous weekend of police interventions at various Montreal synagogues.
After Friday's decision to allow gatherings of up to 10 people in places of worship amid the provincial lockdown, a doctor with the Montreal public health department specified on Sunday that as many people could gather in each “zone” of a given place of worship, meaning each separate space that has its own door to outside.
“In situations where there are multiple non-contiguous zones within one building, simultaneous gatherings of a maximum of 10 people are allowed” as long as certain rules are followed, said David Kaiser, the physician responsible for environmental health at Montreal's public health department.
But just a few hours after expressing gratitude over the clarification, the Council of Hasidic Jews of Quebec received an email advising the group the decision had been reversed.
“Now we just received a communication from (public health director Dr. Mylène) Drouin saying, `We sincerely apologize for the back and forth over the past 48 hours, but you cannot have more than one room in one building',” Alain Picard, a spokesperson for the Council of Hasidic Jews of Quebec, told the Montreal Gazette on Monday afternoon.
“So we don't know what we're going to do now — it's three changes of position in the past 48 hours.”
Confusion over the initial rules resulted in various police interventions at synagogues over the weekend, during which offence reports were drawn up and handed over to Quebec's office of criminal prosecutions (DPCP) to determine whether statements of offence should be issued to attendees.
Worshippers were under the impression that up to 10 people could gather in different rooms within the same building and police understood the rule as being a maximum of 10 people per single place of worship.
“The provincial government has informed us that the decree permitting gatherings of a maximum of 10 people in a house of worship does not allow for simultaneous gatherings at the same address,” reads the email from Drouin. “Henceforth, only one gathering of up to 10 people may be allowed at any given address at one time.”
Picard said the changes are confusing and that he's not sure what the council will do next. “It's asking citizens to behave in a way to observe the rules that keep changing; this is irresponsible,” he said.
Despite remaining open at a decreased capacity amid Quebec's partial lockdown that began in October, places of worship were forced to close at the beginning of January when the government announced tighter lockdown restrictions until at least Feb. 8.
A group of ultra- Orthodox Jewish congregations sent a lawyer's letter to Premier François Legault's office asking his government to reverse its decision, which it did Friday.
In an email detailing the guidelines around religious gatherings, the Health Ministry said it is sensitive to needs of religious communities.
Ahead of the latest change in the rules on Monday, Quebec opposition parties commented on the events that took place over the weekend, saying guidelines should be clarified but need to be followed.
“For sure there needs to be more explanation,” Liberal Party Leader Dominique Anglade said at a news conference opening a virtual meeting of the Liberal caucus. “Where there is confusion, people will interpret things in different ways and we've seen it over the last few months.”
On his way into a Parti Québécois pre-session caucus, party leader Paul St-pierre Plamondon made similar remarks.
“If there is any ambiguity, the rules have to be clarified,” he said. “But regardless of whether we are talking about religious groups, parties in hotel rooms, or other gatherings … we must ensure that the rules are applied.”
St-pierre Plamondon said people who do not follow public heath guidelines are committing “a form of sabotage” that is “very discouraging for other citizens.”
The Health Ministry and the Montreal public health department did not respond to the Montreal Gazette's requests for comment on recent changes to the rules.