SAULT STE. MARIE - A Sault Ste. Marie man who was lobbying for December to be proclaimed Christian Heritage Month by city hall says he will continue his effort — while a spokesperson in the mayor's office says so no formal request has come across his desk.
Arnold Heino was recently named the People's Party of Canada candidate for Sault Ste. Marie and is behind a local attempt to have Christian Heritage Month recognized. He first sent an email on the subject Nov. 29, hoping for the declaration to be part of one of the city council meetings scheduled for Dec. 2 and 9.
"There's a number of communities across Canada that have recognized December as Christian Heritage Month," Heino said in an interview on Monday. "I think my biggest disappointment is that they haven't reached out to me yet."
"One of the biggest reasons why I think it's important is because the very first sentence in our Charter of Rights is this is a country based on the supremacy of God. You can't hide that."
A group called the Christian Music Festival, which is operated by Jay and Molly Banerjei, is supporting the effort to have December recognized across Canada as Christian Heritage Month.
On its website, the group says more than 40 municipalities across Canada have made proclamations, including Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Sudbury and others.
The proclamation was hotly debated in council chambers in Toronto last month, but was eventually passed by a vote of 11 to 4.
Parkdale—High Park councillor Gord Perks led the opposition to the motion in Toronto.
Perks said he was wary of the request, in part, because the motion lacked information on the Christian Heritage Festival organization.
Christianity, Perks argued, is already so entrenched in Canadian society that a standalone month isn’t necessary.
“Canada as an entity is soaked and steeped in the Christian church. They do not need separate recognition. When we do something like recognize some different group, that is an effort to rebalance,” he said.
Perks also said the role Christianity played in colonization, while also serving as the backbone of the residential school system, is not something to celebrate.
Scarbrough—Agincourt councillor Nick Mantas, who sponsored the Toronto motion, said there was “no political intention behind this motion” and argued history shouldn’t get in the way.
“We all understand the history behind it, but it is time to move forward and to support the Christian faith, just like all the other faiths in Canada,” he said.
Perks also took exception to the wording of the month’s name.
He pointed to the Christian Heritage Party, a socially and fiscally conservative party founded in 1987. Perks said the party opposes abortion and LGBTQ+ rights, denies climate change and stokes hatred of Islam.
“Language matters. The phrase ‘Christian heritage’ is not a neutral phrase,” Perks said.
Heino said his request is also not political.
"This isn't an idea that I want one religion against another religion, that's totally not the idea," he said. "It's just that Christianity should be recognized as much as every other religion."
In the Sault, proclamation requests are considered by the mayor's office, said Jordan Allard, Shoemaker's policy and communications advisor. For many years, the mayor would make proclamations at the start of Sault Ste. Marie City Council meetings. Allard said the long-standing process was changed last year and all applications must go through the city's web page to set up for proclamations.
Allard acknowledged that Heino's email was received, but said a formal application through the city's website never came through.
"The procedural bylaw was amended in 2023 to move proclamations from council meetings to prerecorded videos that are shared on social media and broadcast by Rogers Media," said Allard in a series of emailed responses made earlier this month. "The requestor was directed to the proper process for proclamation."
Heino said he has reached out to the Christian Heritage Month group for some guidance, but had already begun the process of applying for the declaration prior to becoming aware of them.
Allard said so far this term, there has been no requests for proclamations denied by the mayor's office.
"We ask the public to submit requests at least two weeks in advance to provide time for coordination [and] production of the videos," said Allard.
Heino was a member of a group of protesters that stood at the steps of the Ronald A. Irwin Civic Centre in September for a '1 Million March for Children' event, which at the time Shoemaker called "the actions of a fringe minority."
In an email on Monday, Shoemaker said he does not consider the request for Christian Heritage Month to be declared in the Sault a fringe request.
"Quite the opposite. However, I have not seen a request come through the proclamations process as he was directed to do," said Shoemaker.
— with files from TorontoToday
