Andrew Bennett, Canada‘s former ambassador for religious freedom, says religious freedom in Canada is being eroded.
Bennett, Canada’s first and only ambassador for religious freedom, was head of the then-new Office of Religious Freedom in Canada from 2013 to 2016. The office was then abolished when the Liberals came to power. Bennett is currently the director of the Cardus Institute for Religious Liberty.
He said, “It (the erosion of religious freedom) is a slow process, but in our Time it’s being demonstrated more clearly in a variety of different ways.”
Bennett said the “shrinking” of religious freedom is reflected in areas such as the right to conscience, and that the government is making legislation that does not include provisions that allow people of faith to observe their beliefs.
Religious views are also often excluded from civil society and public dialogue, he said, including when legislating around sensitive moral issues.
“I think it’s a huge challenge for those in our country who have strong religious beliefs.” Bennett said, “We have a lack of religious views and religious language in our media, and those (religious views and language) are not in our political discourse, and they’re not in our universities.”
Discriminatory legislation
Among 2 typically controversial pieces of legislation, Bennett noted, is a ban on gender-related “conversion therapy” and an expansion of access to medically assisted death (or euthanasia).
The recently passed Bill C-7 extends euthanasia to those who are not terminally ill and to the mentally ill. Faith-based groups, groups that help people with disabilities and doctors have slammed the bill, saying it creates a Culture of easy access to death that would put vulnerable people at risk of forced death.
Bennett said attempts to add conscience rights protections to Bill C-7 were defeated, which worries him.
The Coalition for health Care and Conscience (CHC) noted that some provincial regulators have developed policies under Bill C-7 that force doctors to refer for euthanasia against their own beliefs.
Bennett said the Ontario Supreme Court issued a ruling in 2019 that forced doctors in the province to refer medical services such as abortion and euthanasia, ignoring that the practice contradicted their religious beliefs.
He said the policies look like, you didn’t directly rob the bank, but you were the driver who helped the robbers carry away the loot.
Bennett has spoken out against the changes the administration made to the student summer jobs program in 2018, which only funds institutions that affirm so-called “reproductive rights,” including abortion.
“All of a sudden, faith-based organizations are excluded from government funding.” This is unacceptable, he said, “because it’s discrimination.”
The federal government introduced Bill C-6 in Congress on Oct. 1, 2020, proposing to create a new crime – any treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation; change a person’s gender identity; change a person’s gender expression to inhibit or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual expression.
Bennett said the definition of the new crime places regular pastoral counseling in the category of “psychological and physical abuse.
He said, “In the same way that conversations between Parents and children need to be protected, so do pastoral counseling conversations.”
Discriminatory pandemic prevention measures
During the pandemic, religious freedom has come to the forefront, and churches have clashed with health officials over the right to worship and whether religious services should be considered “essential.
Bennett said it is reasonable to limit indoor gatherings and maintain social distance. But he questioned the different approaches taken by some jurisdictions to religious and secular services, saying they are discriminatory and inconsistent with scientific evidence.
In British Columbia, places of worship have been closed for months, yet meals are allowed in restaurants,” he said. And, other indoor gathering places have been opened.”
“In my opinion, this is an unreasonable restriction on religious freedom.” He said the viral pandemic underscores the importance of the physical and mental health of a community, whether you practice your religion or not.
Bennett said religious communities have adopted a degree of self-censorship under the pressure of an increasingly secular society and institutions. “We have allowed public debate in our country to become impoverished because we don’t have enough courage to speak out through our faith experiences and religious convictions.”
He said the health of religious freedom reflects the overall health of democracy and other fundamental freedoms, which can only be protected if the right to freedom is cherished and exercised.
“We have to make sure that we don’t take freedom for granted, but that we nurture her.” Bennett said.
Recent Comments