One thing to bear in mind in the debate over church and state is that Canada is not 'Murica.

America was established with the idea of separation of church and state clearly entrenched in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  It is based on the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which declares that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” 

Thomas Jefferson promoted the idea of such separation and in 1947, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black quoted Jefferson in his majority opinion for Everson v. Board of Education declaring that “the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between Church and State.'”

Many Canadians erroneously believe that separation of church and state is guaranteed in the Canadian Constitution. When, in fact, Canada constitutionally accommodates religion in ways that would never be accepted in the United States.