Iam a little surprised at the punditry's response to the Stephen Harper government's introduction of the Office of Religious Freedom.
Even my colleague opposite, who I know has a big red liberal heart, seems to have a problem with Canada assisting those that face religious persecution in their native countries.
While the Conservatives have been a little vague about details of the office, their overall vision is nothing less than virtuous.
The government has said the new office will monitor religious freedom around the world, promote religious freedom as a key objective of Canadian foreign policy, advance policies and programs that support religious freedom, and continue to ensure that Canada offers its protection to vulnerable religious minorities through "our generous refugee resettlement programs."
Through this program, which has a modest budget of only $5 million, we'll be able to offer assistance to Jews in Venezuela and the former Soviet Union, where anti-Semitic attacks are on the rise.
We can help fund organizations that assist the tens of thousands in Pakistan, Sudan and Egypt that risk arrest, torture and even death for practising Christianity.
We can help bring attention to Falun Gong practitioners, Tibetan Buddhists, and Uyghur Muslims who face harassment and physical intimidation at the hands of the Chinese government.
Recent evidence, in fact, shows that 32% of the world's population live in countries that severely restrict open religious practice.
Moreover, a growing body of literature has linked religious freedom with democratic rights and societal well-being, highlighting the importance of promoting the ideal.
Some of this country's liberal media, however, have irresponsibly been spewing some conspiracy theory mumbo-jumbo about the Office being Christian-centric.
In my opinion, the suggestion that a Conservative government, in 2012, has a hidden agenda to spread Christianity throughout the globe, is purely absurd.
Introducing an Office of Religious Freedom is a way for Canada to re-engage itself into the international community after years of a muttered foreign policy
It's a way of sharing our 'Canadian values' with the rest of the world.
It's a way for us to continue our proud tradition of championing human rights, of which religious freedom is one.
