“We think an initiative like is the kind of thing that ought to have the support of all sides in politics,” he said at a news conference in Toronto April 23. “When you see in Egypt peaceful members of the Coptic community being attacked, when you see Baha’is being persecuted in Iran, when you see Jews being persecuted, when you see Christians unable to practise their religion freely in China, I think all Canadians believe in the importance of both defending religious freedom at home but also defending religious freedom abroad.”

But while recognizing religious persecution is “a serious problem,” Catholic Civil Rights League executive director Joanne McGarry pointed out “there are some trouble spots at home.”

“We would like to see some attention to that, notably through the repeal of Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.”

Section 13 is the so-called “thought crimes” section of the Act that makes any statement that could be “likely to expose” any member of an identifiable group to hatred for contempt. Provincial human rights acts have similar provisions that have seen many Christians, including Bishop Fred Henry of Calgary, defending themselves against human rights complaints for publicly upholding Catholic doctrine. Catholic Insight, a small-circulation magazine, has spent $40,000 defending itself against complaints under the act. Provincial equity policies are also encroaching on Catholic educational rights, McGarry said.

“I’m not pretending for a moment that our problems are like the bloodshed we see in other parts of the world,” said McGarry. “But nevertheless it is a real problem. It has presented significant challenges for expression of religious belief.

“It’s really going to need a change in the human rights code to address that,” she said, noting that it can be extremely costly to defend one’s self or one’s organization against complaints even if they are later dropped, dismissed or overturned by a higher court.

Religious freedom expert and constitutional lawyer Iain Benson praised the religious freedom promise.  

“Canada has lagged behind various countries in its public recognition of the extremely important role that religions play in our society.”  

But he, too, would like a more robust defence of religious freedom at home in Canada. 

“I see an overseas-only approach as strange since Canada could use deeper thought about and encouragement for religions within Canada.” He said he hoped “a domestic approach will be added soon.”

The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC) also supports the initiative, noting that it has been engaged in raising awareness of religious persecution for over a decade. 

“It’s exciting to see this issue hit the agenda of federal party leaders,” said EFC’s Centre for Faith and Public Life director Don Hutchinson in a blog post. “Purely by the numbers, Christians are the most persecuted body on the planet today. There are over 200 million Christians facing persecution on a daily basis around the world, simply because of their religious beliefs.”

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