Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to speak today in enthusiastic support of the motion. I will be sharing my time with the member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands.
Canada's Office of Religious Freedom has, in the three short years since its inception, clearly established itself as an integral part of Canada's foreign policy leadership, and as Canada's first ambassador for the Office of Religious Freedom, Dr. Andrew Bennett has established himself as an outspoken champion against the rapid spread of religious persecution around the world.
Why did our former government create this institution? Almost 80% of the world's population—77%, to be precise—live in countries that impose restrictions on freedom of religion or live in countries where individuals or groups freely and widely commit a range of unacceptable acts based on religious hostilities. We know that religious freedom is a specific element in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but we also know that widespread violation of religious freedoms impacts religious communities of all of the world's major faiths, including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews, as well as those who profess no particular faith. We were reminded in question period today by my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan that atheists would fall under this belief category.
As the chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong, I can say that we should be aware that in the early 1990s there were more than 70 million practitioners, not of a religion, but of the spiritual practice that is followed by adherents of Falun Dafa and Falun Gong. However, in 1999 the Chinese government brutally and cruelly cracked down, inflicting persecution, beatings, imprisonment, and even torture and death on tens of millions of Falun Gong practitioners. In recent years, thank heaven, recent Chinese presidents have demonstrated a greater tolerance, but today the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, which celebrates truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance—or, in Chinese, zhen, shan, ren—is in great need of intervention and moral support where diplomacy can provide no material comfort, and it is this that falls within the mandate of the Office of Religious Freedom.
The mandate is a very simple one. It is to promote freedom of religion as a major Canadian foreign policy. Its activities and projects in its first three years have been focused, as we have heard a couple of times today, on countries such as Iraq, Nigeria, and Ukraine, where there has been abundant evidence of serious violations of citizens' freedom of religion involving hatred, systemic discrimination, violence, and death.
While the budget of the Office of Religious Freedom is a modest $5 million annually, its projects abroad have been welcomed by the international community and leaders of the international community as important initiatives. In Iraq, for example, the $250,000 project with Minority Rights Group International has helped local Iraqi civil society organizations to monitor and report religious persecution.
As well, a $500,000 project with the Mennonite Central Committee is working to increase interreligious dialogue and shared resources to promote religious co-operation institutionally in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, even at a time of unconventional warfare that has displaced millions and millions of the civilian population.
In Nigeria, the Office of Religious Freedom funded a two-year, $730,000 project to develop and expand interfaith dialogue and conflict mediation in Plateau State, where conflict between different religious communities has killed thousands of innocents in recent years.
In Ukraine, the religious freedom fund supports two projects: an investment of more than $1 million with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which are aimed at encouraging democratic process through religious freedom and pluralism.
At a time when the Liberal government, with partisan zeal, is working to reverse many of our Conservative government's foreign policy positions, alliances, and initiatives, we should perhaps look at the non-partisan nature of the external advisory committee, which is an oversight body of 22 prominent independent leaders from across a wide spectrum of Canadian faith and belief communities.
The advisory committee is chaired by Father Raymond de Souza, a Roman Catholic priest and noted newspaper columnist. Serving as vice-chairs are Malik Talib, president of the Aga Khan council for Canada, the social governance body for the Ismaili community in Canada; and Corinne Box, director of government relations for the Bahá’i Community of Canada.
The committee members include Imam Sayed Nabil Abbas, who is the imam of the Lebanese Islamic Centre in Montreal; and Eric Adriaans, who is the national executive director of Centre for Inquiry Canada, a national charity providing education on secular humanism, reason, science and critical thinking. Peter Bhatti, the president and founder of International Christian Voice, is a Canadian of Pakistani birth and works with victimized religious minorities there and around the world. Of course, Rabbi Reuven Bulka is a rabbi activist, writer, and broadcaster right here in Ottawa, and former co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress. There is also Dr. Aslam Daud, chairman of Humanity First Canada and national vice president of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, who has championed religious freedom, peace, and tolerance for three decades. As well, Colin Singh Dhillon, chair of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada, has worked to eliminate social and religious barriers across communities. John Gill is the director of Minority Groups United and president of Canadian Christian Association. Carl Hétu is the national director of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, and authority on eastern churches, religious minorities, and interreligious dialogue. We have Pastor Richard Kao, who is the founding pastor of Five Stones Church in Vancouver, and has been deeply involved in leadership training in Asia for more than two decades. Antoine Malek is the chair and president of the Coptic Orthodox Community of Greater Montreal. Jim Marino is the executive director of the Niagara Foundation for Catholic Education, and an experienced communications adviser. Dr. Paul Marshall is senior fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom in Washington D.C., and visiting professor at the graduate school of Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University in Jakarta, Indonesia. Phuong Ngo is an active member of Vietnamese community organizations, and an advocate for human rights and democracy in Vietnam. Dr. Mario Silva is a former distinguished member of the House as a member of the Liberal Party, an international legal scholar, a prolific author of papers on human rights and security, and former chair of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance. He is also a valued and worthy member of the Office of Religious Freedom advisory committee.
I have made a point of referencing almost every member today. There are more, but time prevents me from mentioning the last few members of this advisory committee. I believe it is important for Canadians to recognize the breadth and depth of the non-partisan activities that offer counsel to the ambassador of the Office of Religious Freedom, Dr. Bennett.
In closing, I would urge all colleagues, on both sides of the House, to recognize the good work that has been done and is being done by Canada's Office of Religious Freedom.
I call on the government to renew the current mandate of the office. Its vital work promoting peace, freedom, tolerance, and communal harmony is needed today more than ever.