Plateau-Mont-Royal refuses to give a permit for annual Portuguese procession

The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough has refused to give a permit to the Portuguese community for its Catholic procession.

The Plateau-Mont-Royal borough has refused to give a permit to the Montreal Portuguese community for an event they have been hosting for 60 years.

“We were surprised,” said organizing group member Emanuel Linhares.

The annual Santo Cristo march will start outside the Mission Santa Cruz Catholic Church and travel through the streets of the borough on Sunday. This year, though, it will be done without a permit.

The organizers asked the borough for a permit on Feb. 12. It was only last Friday — nine days before the event — that Plateau-Mont-Royal officials said they would not give them a permit. In the refusal, the borough cited a new provincial law that was passed in April banning public prayers.

Linhares said the church thought it was exempt from the law. While the procession is religious, there is no praying during the march.

“No, there is no praying. There is a march. It’s a silent march that we all do. Because for us, the silence is a sign of respect,” he told CTV News.

Organizers expect at least 2,000 people, some from around the world, to attend the march. So, they went to the Montreal police service, which is allowing the tradition to go on without a permit.

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In a statement sent to CTV News, the borough said, “The law has gone into effect, and we are currently in a transition period. We are waiting for a clear and consistent framework to process this type of request in accordance with the law and municipal bylaws. Once the guidelines are in place and the responsibilities have been clarified, the requests can be reviewed.”

Linhares said the City of Montreal said it’s up to each borough to interpret the law. He believes there needs to be one policy for the whole city.

“We need to have the same thing. Uniform for everybody.”