Canada to champion religious liberty globally with new religious freedom office

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces the establishment of the Office of Religious Freedom and the appointment of Andrew Bennett as its Ambassador at the Aiwan Tahir Community Centre in Maple, Ontario February 19, 2013. REUTERS/Jon Blacker

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OTTAWA ? Canada's new ambassador of religious freedom is Dr. Andrew Bennett, professor of Christian history and dean of private, liberal arts school Augustine College in Ottawa.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Bennett's appointment to the post Tuesday, saying he'll work through the foreign affairs department and have a $5-million budget to monitor and promote religious freedom globally.

"He will promote it as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy," Harper said. "And Dr. Bennett will help ensure that the protection of religious freedom informs the policies and programs of the government of Canada."

Bennett brings civil service experience to the job, having worked as a political risk analyst for Export Development Canada and as a Privy Council Office policy analyst.

Harper's speech at an Ahmadiyya Muslim mosque north of Toronto included a laundry list of persecution around the world.

He named Chinese government repression of Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, Falun Gong practitioners and others, and the imprisonment of Baha'is in Iran.

While the move fulfils a 2011 campaign promise to create an office of religious freedom, Harper says it also supports a broader objective.

"Democracy will not find ? democracy cannot find ? fertile ground in any society where notions of the freedom of personal conscience and faith are not permitted," he said.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says focussing on religious liberty is too narrow.

"Of course, it's one of the rights that has to be protected around the world, but it's not the only one," he said in Calgary. "If we're going to be pushing for democracy around the world, we should be talking democratic institutions ? a court system that's credible, that's subject to the rule of law, that's independent ... democratically elected officials, the existence of free opposition."

The NDP also worries some groups may have been excluded in consultations to set up the office.

Harper says Bennett will work with a diversity of groups, including those who hold that God doesn't exist.

"People who choose not to believe ? that's a valid religious and democratic perspective that we must also accept and promote," said Harper.

Christian and Jewish groups welcomed Harper's announcement.

"The establishment of the office is an important signal that Canada is a beacon for conscientious and religious freedom," Philip Horgan, with the Catholic Civil Rights League, said.

Sam Eskenasi, with B'nai Brith Canada said it's a good move for Canada.

"Canada has a role to play and it should exercise moral leadership," he said.

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Which religion do you think suffers the most discrimination?

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/19/canada-to-champion-religious-liberty-globally-with-new-religious-freedom-office

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