PARLIAMENT HILL—The government is taking steps to create an office of religious freedom that could become a voice for human rights with some independence from the government.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said during a consultation with stakeholders Monday that the office, promised in the speech from the throne in June, would “promote and protect freedom of religion and belief, consistent with core Canadian values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.”
Baird said the new office would speak out on abuses and demonstrate Canada’s commitment to religious freedom.
“We will not just go along to get along. We will stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is popular, convenient, or expedient,” promised Baird.
He said that Canada’s multi-cultural society shared a common humanity of tolerance and peace.
He also touted a list of issues he has spoken out on directly, or that Canada has taken a stance on at the United Nations, including discrimination against Muslims and Buddhists in Burma and the suppression of Tibetans and Falun Gong in China.
“It is our common duty to defend the rights of the afflicted, and to give voice to the voiceless,” said Baird.
“I am confident that the Office of Religious Freedom can help do just that.”
A source who attended the closed-door meeting with the stakeholders told The Epoch Times that Bob Dechert, Baird’s parliamentary secretary, said the government was considering assigning an ambassador to the office. He said there have been suggestions that ambassador have the status of a senior diplomat.
Wayne Marston, the NDP’s pensions critic and a member of the parliamentary subcommittee on human rights, has also said there is wide support among all parties to bump the subcommittee up to full committee status, which would enhance its powers and independence.
