Evidence of meeting #12 for Foreign Affairs and International Development in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was lanka.
A recording is available from Parliament.
5:25 p.m.
Conservative
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
I want to come back to this question of World Vision and the anti-conversion legislation. Dr. Gunasekera, perhaps you could tell us about it. I was frankly surprised by your comments about World Vision, because from my experience, World Vision is a highly reputable charitable organization. Do you share that view?
Second, can you explain the thinking behind the anti-conversion legislation? And can you understand the concerns many of us would have about legislation of that kind, given the size and extent of the Sri Lankan Christian community, with which I'm very familiar, as an Anglican?
5:25 p.m.
President, Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada
World Vision has been engaged in community development work, but the hidden agenda has been conversion as well. There was a presidential commission held earlier. They had to come before the presidential commission. A particular project was highlighted called the Mustard Seed Project. They were going to these rural areas, mostly Buddhist or Hindu, where they would set up little day cares, and they would send in Christians as teachers. They would even try to influence the young minds. They would give them little goodies. They would give them boxes, one with a picture of baby Jesus, the other with a picture of the Buddha. The Buddha's boxes were empty, but the baby Jesus boxes had a lot of goodies inside. That was called the Mustard Seed Project.
They also tried to influence the government doctors who operate in these rural areas. There are some rural hospitals. They would try to give them money. They would pay them money to run clinics on behalf of World Vision. Then they would neglect the hospitals.
One of those doctor didn't cooperate with them. This has been documented. I can forward the details to you. There's a lady from England who went and investigated this. They got some of the kin to lodge a complaint saying that he had abused two of their young female children. They created an issue for this doctor because he was not cooperating with them in running their medical clinics. They wanted to show that they are the people you are to come to if you need any help. They are the people who will provide medical assistance. They are the people who will look after the children in their day cares.
These are things I have become aware of. One was through the presidential commission and one was after a detailed investigation of the scandal, because the doctor didn't give in to the pressure of World Vision.
Regarding the bill, a lot of these people in these rural areas, I think.... I believe there is a rule that you cannot start a church or temple unless there are a certain number of people who would support that church. I don't know how many families there are, maybe 200 families. So instead of opening a church, they would have a prayer house, and they would send a parishioner. Gradually, maybe, they would offer some inducements, along with some gifts. People are poor. In order for them to qualify for this, they would get them to convert to Christianity, and then they would ask them to publicly come and smash a statue of their god, if they are Hindus, or the Buddha's image. Not only that, they got them to do even worse things. When that happened, there was a lot of friction in this village, and there were unnecessary tensions and unnecessary problems.
The anti-conversion bill is to prevent unnecessary conversions. That is the thinking behind that bill.
5:25 p.m.
Liberal
Bob Rae Liberal Toronto Centre, ON
It may be that this is not the time or place to get into this, but it doesn't prevent the legitimate activity of Christian denominations.
5:25 p.m.
President, Sri Lanka United National Association of Canada
There is nothing to prevent anybody; you are free.... For instance, when I was there on holiday, I was staying with my wife's sister. There were Christian folk who came, knocked on the door, and would chat or hand out literature. There's no problem with that, but these allurements given to the poor, exploiting their poverty and then asking them to go and publicly smash their idols, their religious idols, that is what is causing the problem.
5:30 p.m.
Conservative
