Foreign Affairs And International Trade: Religious Pluralism

Refugee Program Dept: So the Conservatives’ proposal to create an office of religious freedom in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade is an initiative that should be welcomed by all Canadians regardless of their political stripe, according to Globe And Mail. While it’s easy for Canadians to point out the dark moments of religious, cultural and ethnic intolerance in our own history, from the Chinese head tax to some of the more ridiculous interventions at the Bouchard-Taylor “reasonable accommodation” hearings in Quebec, it’s important to note that Canada’s experience of immigration to integration is seen as a beacon for other multiethnic and religious societies around the world and religious intolerance is unquestionably a major factor in global instability. It’s at the root of the suppression of the civil and political rights of ethnic minorities in most authoritarian regimes. It leads to terrible violence that poses a significant challenge to the building of a stable, prosperous and just world order. It implies that the government would go well beyond simply monitoring the plight of those persecuted around the world for their religious convictions. What the Prime Minister is proposing is to make the promotion of religious pluralism abroad a pillar of Canadian foreign policy. This would not only put our international aid dollars and generous refugee program in line with this priority, but, more important, would focus the government’s diplomatic efforts on a significant issue that Canada has the credibility and moral authority to be a global leader. It’s about standing up for religious freedom everywhere in a meaningful way. As reported in the news.
@t chinese head tax, globe and mail