Promises Kept
January/February 2012Early in 2011 Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that a reelected Conservative government would 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 those Canadians who have fled religious persecution and come to Canada—many of them having experienced violence and torture just for professing their faith openly. Harper said that Canadians are fortunate to live in a society in which 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 reelected 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, will 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.
Calling him a champion of freedom and an inspirational figure, the prime minister told the crowd that Pakistan's slain minister of minorities, Shahbaz 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."