Canada: Harper proposes new Office of Religious Freedom to promote religious freedom around the world

The Prime Minister invoked the memory of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s late Minister of Minorities, who visited Mr. Harper in Ottawa shortly before he was gunned down for his outspoken defence of religious freedom.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch |
Source/Credit: Northumberland View
By Conservative Party of Canada

N-QW Votes 2011: Today, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that a re-elected Conservative Government will create an Office of Religious Freedom to ensure that defending persecuted religious minorities is a priority of Canada’s foreign policy.

Speaking to a packed room and an enthusiastic and diverse crowd, Prime Minister Harper praised the courage of Canadians who have come here fleeing religious persecution, many of whom experienced violence and torture just to be able to profess their faith openly.

Prime Minister Harper remarked that “Canada is fortunate to have men and women of such courage as you. The spirit that you have shown in standing up for freedom in your own lives should inspire all Canadians.”


Harper said that Canadians are fortunate to live in a society where freedom of conscience does not carry the threat of persecution or violence. But he added that “while we are thankful to live in a country that spares us such tests, we must not let our comfort be an excuse to shirk our commitment to the cause of freedom. That is why I am pleased to announce that a re-elected Conservative government will create a special Office of Religious Freedom.”

Harper explained that the new Office of Religious Freedom, located within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, would monitor religious freedom around the world, promote religious freedom as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy and advance policies and programs that support religious freedom around the world.

The Prime Minister invoked the memory of Shahbaz Bhatti, Pakistan’s late Minister of Minorities, who visited Mr. Harper in Ottawa shortly before he was gunned down for his outspoken defence of religious freedom.

Calling him a champion of freedom and an inspirational figure, the Prime Minister told the crowd that Minister Bhatti had “asked us in Canada to shine a light on the persecution of religious minorities in Pakistan and around the world.”

The Prime Minister said that the new Office of Religious Freedom will do just that: “it will call attention to the religiously persecuted and condemn their persecutors. It will signal to religious minorities everywhere that they have a friend in Canada.”

BACKGROUNDER

THE ISSUE

    * Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Government is committed to promoting freedom of conscience and freedom of religion around the world.
    * On the issue of religious freedom, the Harper Government has:
          o Reached out to resettle Iraqis targeted as religious minorities, including recently announcing an extension of this program to 2013, by which time 20,000 Iraqi refugees will have been resettled in Canada.[1]
          o Denounced the attacks on Coptic Christians and their religious institutions in Egypt and called on the government to bring the perpetrators to justice.[2]
          o Spoken out against the persecution and imprisonment of members of the Baha’i community by the Iranian authorities.[3]
          o Offered to accept, on an emergency basis, the resettlement of 50 Montagnards, a persecuted Christian minority from Vietnam.[4]
          o Publicly condemned the use of blasphemy laws to harass, intimidate, arrest and sentence to death religious minorities.[5]
          o Called on the authorities to bring those responsible for the assassination of Pakistan Minister of Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti to justice. Bhatti was killed for his defence of religious freedom.[6]
          o Spoken out against the barbaric abuse and violence directed at the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan.[7]
          o Led nations in walking out on anti-Semitic speeches in the United Nations and was the first country to boycott the international hate-filled Durban II conference.[8]
          o Established the Diefenbaker Award to honour individuals or groups who show exceptional courage and leadership in defending human rights and freedom.[9]
    * Religious persecution is a serious problem that affects many religious minorities around the world
    * Freedom of conscience and religion are the foundations of a free society. Freedom of conscience and religion are the first two freedoms affirmed by Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They are also protected by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.
    * Other countries have similar offices, or have otherwise made the promotion of religious freedom a key plank of their foreign policies, including:
    * Germany, where “Chancellor Merkel declared […] that protection of religious freedom is an important part of its foreign policy.”[10]
    * The United States, which has an Office of International Religious Freedom in the State Department, headed by an Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.[11]
    * Italy, which “sees the promotion of religious freedom as a fundamental point, since this deals with a fundamental right of each human person.”[12]

THE PLAN

    *

      A re-elected Stephen Harper Government will create a new Office of Religious Freedom at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which will:
          o Monitor religious freedom around the world.
          o Promote religious freedom as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy.
          o Advance policies and programs that support religious freedom around the world.
    * A re-elected Harper Conservative Government will continue to ensure that Canada offers its protection to vulnerable religious minorities through our generous refugee resettlement programs.
    * A re-elected Harper Conservative Government will also ensure that the Canadian International Development Agency makes it a priority to work with groups that support vulnerable religious minorities.

THE CHOICE

    * Stephen Harper’s Government has a strong record of promoting religious freedom.
    * Some Ignatieff Liberals have already criticized the proposed Office of Religious Freedom.[13]
    * Canadians have a clear choice.
    * Canadians can choose between Stephen Harper’s pro-freedom plan, which recognizes and seeks to address the serious problem of religious persecution around the world, or the Ignatieff Liberals, who cannot agree on the importance of religious freedom and the urgency and seriousness of the problem.

[1] See http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-03-18b.asp

[2] See http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2010/004-Egypt.aspx

[3] See http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2010/006.aspx?lang=eng

[4] See http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-02-23a.asp

[5] See http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20110303/harper-bhatti-110303/

[6] See http://pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?id=4004

[7] See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWNSbZse5ss

[8] See http://www.thestar.com/news/article/296818--canada-won-39-t-attend-anti-racism-39-gong-show-39

[9] See http://www.international.gc.ca/rights-droits/awards-prix/index.aspx

[10] See http://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/op-eds/3282-8172010-germany-a-new-partnership-for-religious-freedom.html ; see also http://wwrn.org/articles/34746/ (“Italy and Germany believe that freedom of faith and the rights of religious minorities are a fundamental part of the international human rights catalogue and of the universal system of values," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and his Italian counterpart, Franco Frattini, said in a statement issued after a meeting in Berlin.”)

[11] See http://www.state.gov/g/drl/irf/

[12] See http://storico.radiovaticana.org/en1/storico/2010-10/433381_speech_of_the_italian_foreign_minister_franco_frattini_on_the_occasion_of_the_conference_at_the_campidoglio.html

[13] See http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/faith/tories-promise-to-create-office-for-religious-freedom-in-foreign-affairs-dept-119504314.html?device=mobile (comments of David McGuinty and Bob Rae); see also tweet from @DenisCoderre: http://ca.tweetcommons.com/polis/calgary-southeast?q=denis+coderre



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