19 voters quash Muslim-run cemetery in Saint-Apollinaire, Que.

Residents of Saint-Apollinaire, Que., voted against a proposed Muslim-run cemetery in their town Sunday.

The referendum saw 36 people voteon whether a zoning change would be allowed so that a new cemetery could existin a wooded area on the outskirts of the town.

The final tally showed19 votes were against the project, 16 votes in favourand onerejected ballot.

Mohamed Kesri, who was overseeing the Muslim-run cemetery project, said the outcome could now lead to a complaint of discrimination with the Quebec'shuman rights commission.

He added that he's disappointed a project that would benefit thousands could be blocked by 19 people.

"This is not a referendum on whether the garbage should be collected in the morning or in the afternoon. This is an important request," he said.

Only 49 people in the 6,400-person town, located 35kilometres southwest of Quebec City, were able to vote in the referendum because they lived in the vicinity of the proposed site and had registered to vote.

Seventy peoplewere eligible to register.

Fear steered voters, says mayor

The citizen-led referendum was forcedwhen 40 people signed a petition against the project in April.

• Muslim cemetery opponents collect 40 signatures in effort to block project inSaint-Apollinaire

Tensions have been running high in theweeks leading upto the referendum.

There was a noticeable police presence near the voting offices Sunday and voters were unwilling to speak with media.

They base their decisions on hearsay.- Mayor Bernard Ouellet said after the vote

The mayor of Saint-Apollinaire, Bernard Ouellet, said he's convinced fear steered voters.

"They don't know these people so they base their decisions on hearsay," Ouellet said.

The mayor was in favour of the project and had once said he believedhis town's reputation would be tarnished if the "no" side won.

He said when the mosque's leaders first came to him with the proposalhe "didn't think it would bother anyone."

Opponents went door-to-door

Opponents to the project went door-to-doorgatheringsignatures in the spring to force a referendum on the zoning change.

One of those opponentswasSunnyLtourneau, a member of a group calledtheassociation for alternatives.

She is in favour of non-denominational cemeteries, and says she is equally opposed to cemeteries designated for Catholics, which are common across the province.

"We need cemeteries that welcome everybody, no matter their religion, where they're from, their skin colour, their culture.You have to think about that because in 20 years it's going to be a problem," she said.

Ltourneausaid she didn't want to comment on the outcome of the vote when contacted after the "no" side won.

Ouellet dismissed the main argument made by opponents of rezoning the landwhich was that a non-denominational cemetery should be favoured over a Muslim-run one.

He said a non-denominational cemetery could have been added to the rezoned land, along with the Muslim-run one,if people had only voted in favour of rezoning.

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Project led by Quebec Islamic Cultural Centre

The projecthadbeen in the works since 2016 and was spearheaded by theQuebec Islamic Cultural Centre, the mosque which was the site of theshooting rampage in January, whichkilled six men.

The centre wantedto buy 60,000 square feet of land in a wooded area nearthe Harmonia funeral home for the cemetery, located on the outskirts of the town.

The centrewasready to invest $215,000 into their project.

The reason they wanted a Muslim-run cemeteryis because traditions carried out in other cemeteries conflict with their beliefs, such as cremation.

Quebec City MayorRgis Labeaumeis expected to comment on the outcome Monday.

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