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| ==Mandate== | ==Mandate== | ||
| The office’s mandate is to: | The office’s mandate is to: | ||
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| *oppose religious hatred and intolerance; and | *oppose religious hatred and intolerance; and | ||
| *promote Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.<ref name=Official/> | *promote Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.<ref name=Official/> | ||
| ==See also== | |||
| *] | |||
| ==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 09:04, 24 February 2013
Canada's Office of Religious Freedom is an office of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade set up to protect freedom of religion internationally.
History
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the Office of Religious Freedom as part of his campaign during the 2011 Canadian election.
A closed-door meeting about the office was criticized when it was discovered that of the six panellists consulted, four were Christian, one Jewish, and one Baha'i. Harper has denied the office will have a Christian bias, in response to claims of such a bias in a similar office in the US. Harper stated that Canada is "a very different country".
On 19 February 2013, the Office of Religious Freedom was officially opened and Harper announced that Andrew Bennett would be its first ambassador. Bennett previously worked as a Catholic dean and a civil servant.
Mandate
The office’s mandate is to:
- protect, and advocate on behalf of, religious minorities under threat;
- oppose religious hatred and intolerance; and
- promote Canadian values of pluralism and tolerance abroad.
See also
References
- ^ "Canada's Office of Religious Freedom". Government of Canada. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ CBC News staff (19 February 2013). "Christian college dean to head religious freedom office". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
Further reading
- Sanders, Doug (6 October 2012). "'Religious freedom' sends the wrong message to the wrong people". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 23 February 2013.