With regard to the Office of Religious Freedom: (a) who was consulted regarding the creation of the office, (i) when did the consultations take place, (ii) what are the names and affiliations of those who were consulted; (b) what are the names, positions, and religious affiliations of the guests who attended consultations on a new Office of Religious Freedom in October 2011, (i) how many people from religions including, but not limited to, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Taoism, Buddhism were invited to the meeting, (ii) how were the panellists and participants chosen for the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, (iii) who made the final decisions on panellists and participants chosen for the meeting, (iv) what discussions were held at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) about inviting Amnesty International and why was this organization not invited; (c) who are the employees responsible for the development of the Office of Religious Freedom within (i) the Prime Minister's Office, (ii) the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ Office, (iii) other Ministers’ offices, (iv) DFAIT, (v) other government departments; and (d) how will this office work differently from other sections of DFAIT already working on human rights issues?
In the House of Commons on June 15th, 2012. See this statement in context.