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FREDERICTON – The Speaker of the New Brunswick legislature says a Christian prayer at the start of each daily sitting of the legislature will continue.

Chris Collins says legal staff for the legislature were asked to study a recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling that prayers cannot continue at municipal council meetings in Saguenay, Que.

In a unanimous ruling, the court said the reading of a Catholic prayer at council meetings infringes on freedom of conscience and religion.

Collins says legal counsel for the legislature have determined that the ruling only applies to municipal governments, and specifically to Saguenay.

He says the prayer that has been used in the New Brunswick legislature for 215 years will continue in its present form.