Courthouse Christmas Tree Furor In Toronto

In Canada, CTV and UPI both report that a Toronto judge has created a good deal of consternation by ordering her staff to move a small Christmas tree out of the courthouse lobby and into a back hallway where it is hidden by frosted glass doors. Justice Marion Cohen, in a letter to her staff, said that when the tree is in the lobby, visitors are confronted with it and it makes non-Christians "feel they are not part of this institution". A Canadian Muslim leader, Ontario's Premier and several religious groups have all criticized the judge's move. Tarek Fatah, founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress, said that "they should ban political correctness, not Christmas trees." Court employees say that the tree has been displayed in the lobby for decades.