If Ontario has its beef against the Lord's Prayer being recited daily at the Legislature, Quebec lawmakers on Friday dealt with its Christian tradition through a question if it should keep the crucifix on its National Assembly or remove the Christian symbol.

The provincial legislature, however, adopted the motion filed by Quebec Premier Jean Charest to retain the crucifix. The Christian icon became a major issue in the French-speaking province celebrating its 4th centennial because of a controversial report prepared by the Bouchard-Taylor Commission.

The report, which was leaked prior to its official release, took to task the province for failing to accommodate minority groups in Quebec. It actually covered a wide range of topics including secularism in public places, racial discrimination and insecurities of the province's French-Canadian residents. The report's touched a sensitive nerve among Quebecois who once tried to separate from Canada, by hinting residents were going through an identity crisis.

The authors of the study, philosopher Charles Taylor, and sociologist Gerard Bouchard, clarified, quoted by the Toronto Star, "There is no crisis... one could even say we are far from it, despite the impressions people might have." Bouchard added, "The only crisis is one of perception... we came close to skidding out of control, I think all Quebecers should draw a lesson from it."

The report recommended that Quebec's judges, police officers and prosecutors be prohibited from donning religious symbols and for its municipal councils to stop praying at public gatherings.

Charest, in a news conference, explained the reason why the province opted to keep the crucifix on its place. "We won't rewrite history... The church has played a major role in who we are today as a society, the crucifix is more than a religious symbol."

Ontario has yet to resolve if it would follow Quebec's response when it came to threats against the province's Christian roots. But unlike Charest who initiated keeping the crucifix, it is Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, a Roman Catholic, who spearheads the move to scrap the Pater Noster from its daily legislative habits.