A preacher's prayers have been answered with a legal ruling declaring he was discriminated against based on his religion.
A human rights tribunal has ruled the Town of Pictou discriminated against Rev. Ken Gilliard over two years ago when he was denied a permit to host a religious play on the waterfront.
"I know that we have freedom of expression, freedom of speech and freedom of religion in Canada," Mr. Gilliard said Wednesday from his new home in Meductic, N.B.
"But I didn't think we would have to fight so hard to go ahead and use our rights."
The ruling, which was handed down this week, orders the town to pay Mr. Gilliard $6,000 in general damages, plus interest of 2.5 per cent for the period of time leading up to the board's decision.
The town must also pay $3,000, plus taxes and disbursements, toward his costs.
In addition to the monetary portion of the ruling, the town is to provide sensitivity training for its administrative employees and file an anti-discrimination policy with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission within six months.
Pictou Mayor Joseph Hawes declined immediate comment but said town council will discuss the ruling when it meets Monday night.
The controversy started in August 2002 when Mr. Gilliard, then of Cornerstone Community Church in Lyons Brook, was denied a permit to host a dramatization of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ at the Marina Stage in Pictou.
He went ahead with the production and was charged under the town's public places bylaw, which prohibits exhibitions, shows, parades and other events on town-owned property unless authorized by town council.
He was later acquitted of the charges.
"They were trying to use that bylaw to say it wasn't social or economically beneficial to do a presentation on the stage but that doesn't cut it to cover religious discrimination," Mr. Gilliard said.
Mr. Gilliard is an ordained and licensed minister of the Maranatha church in New Brunswick. He formally filed a complaint against the town with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission in April 2003 on the grounds he was denied access to the facility on the basis of his religion.
In her ruling, tribunal chairwoman Cynthia Hodder wrote: "Rev. Gilliard was denied use of the Marina Stage because his performance contained a message - the message was a religious message."
Mr. Gilliard feels the ruling sets a precedent that shows intolerance for another person's religious beliefs is not acceptable in society.
While he anticipates the money he was awarded will not cover all of his legal bills, he said the case was not about a dollar amount.
"It's a stand we had to take and we're glad we did because now the door is open to preach the gospel," he said.
The town has 30 days to appeal the decision to the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.