The Harper government says it is in the final stages of launching its religious freedom office. Some observers say while they expected the government to deliver on its campaign promise earlier this year, they sense officials are treading carefully in selecting an ambassador to lead the office—a task one analyst said might be taking longer than expected.
Joseph Lavoie, the acting director of communications for Foreign Minister John Baird, told Embassy the government is still ironing out all the details of the office, but the plan is to launch it this year.
"We're still finalizing the last steps," Mr. Lavoie said.
Several media reports in January cited government sources saying the government would launch the office early in 2012.
The Catholic Register, a newspaper owned by the Archdiocese of Toronto, quoted Mr. Lavoie in a Jan. 24 article saying that his government was "very close" to choosing a launch date.
"It's early in the new year, I would classify early as the first quarter of the new year. So I would say the next month or two," he was quoted as saying, in an article detailing Mr. Baird's sit-down meeting on the office Jan. 18 in Toronto with Canadian faith leaders. A photo release about the meeting called the office's creation a "key priority" for the government.
Mr. Lavoie said on Aug. 2 that the government's goal has always been to announce the office in 2012. "So we still have a couple of months before the time runs out," he said.
Peter Bhatti, chairman of International Christian Voice, said he is grateful that the government plans to set up the office. The government consulted him on the office's launch.
"They told me in April it would be announced soon, and now it's August and still there's nothing happened...it will be much better if they announce as soon as possible," he said.
Mr. Bhatti accepted an award from the Harper government earlier this year on behalf of his late brother, Shahbaz, who was Pakistan's minorities minister when he was assassinated in 2011 for his defence of religious groups such as Christians, who he believed were targeted by the country's blasphemy law.
Mr. Bhatti said on Aug. 6 that a Conservative member of Parliament told him just a few days before that an ambassador would likely be chosen in September.
"When we have chosen the person, you can expect us to announce it," Mr. Lavoie said.
Mr. Bhatti recognized that the government has been consulting many people and groups on the office, and that the position would carry a lot of responsibility.
The government would need to be careful to find someone with the ability to balance different religions and faiths, he said.
"My understanding is they're working on identifying and getting the right candidate for that position [of ambassador]," said Robert Joustra, a researcher with Cardus, a think tank that says it draws on "more than 2000 years of Christian social thought" to "enrich and challenge public debate."
"This is sheer speculation because it's taken a while, [but] I expect that's proven to be trickier than they initially thought, which is not a real surprise," he said.
Mr. Joustra is also finishing a doctorate on religious freedom at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.
He said the ambassadorial position would be difficult to fill because of political sensitivities.
"Are you going to choose someone from a specific religious tradition? Are you going to choose someone who is more widely read?" he questioned.
But in the end, he said he would like to see the government do it right.
"I think people were expecting an announcement before the summer came. Obviously no one expects much during the summer," he said. "I was surprised that nothing had taken place by then, but I know they're working diligently at it."
Don Hutchinson, vice-president and general legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, echoed some of Mr. Joustra's comments.
He said representatives from religious communities have said to the government that it is important to get the structure of the office right the first time.
"I respect that the government appears to have placed getting it right ahead of getting it done fast," he said.
"It will be a challenging role so the decision must be taken with some care," said Geoffrey Cameron, a principal researcher with the Bahá'í Community of Canada.
He added that it seems the human rights policy division within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was helping with some of the administrative work that needed to be sorted out around the office's budget and personnel.
An important choice
Bob Dechert, a parliamentary secretary to Mr. Baird, told attendees at the Second Parliamentary Forum on Religious Freedom and Governance on April 2 that Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned to appoint an ambassador to head the new office. The Conservatives promised an annual budget of $5 million for the office in their last election platform.
The United States has an ambassador in its international religious freedom office.
Mr. Cameron said it would be important for the ambassador to understand the international human rights framework along with international law. The person selected would also need to be able to engage with a wide range of people, he said.
Amin Elshorbagy, the president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said that the ambassador should be balanced and have an understanding of different cultures.
Meanwhile, Thomas Farr wrote in an email that the office needed someone with experience conducting international diplomacy. The ambassador would also need to have knowledge of the meaning and reach of religious freedom, said Mr. Farr, who served as the first director of the US Office of International Religious Freedom, launched in 1998.
Mr. Farr also noted the importance of being able to work with foreign governments and societies as different as Egypt, China, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria.
"The choice of the new ambassador is a very important one for Canada and its foreign policy," he said.
Arvind Sharma, a professor with McGill University's religious studies faculty, said whom the government chooses is not as important as what the person does.
Consulting around the globe
Mr. Baird and his staff were busy last summer and fall talking with Canadian and global religious representatives about how the government should set up the office.
Mr. Lavoie pointed out that Mr. Baird has sought input from the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya community, the Aga Khan, a Holy See representative, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, and the US religious freedoms ambassador.
In May, Mr. Baird was in Washington delivering a speech on religious freedom at the Religious Liberty Dinner at the Canadian Embassy.
Mr. Sharma said a group of McGill University faculty members came to Ottawa with some students in July to discuss the office with DFAIT officials.
While there might have been a range of consultations, he noted that some observers have been critical of the government's meeting last October, which drew in religious representatives and a group of panellists.
"People felt that only some people had been asked [to attend]; it was not broad enough," he said.
Original Article
Source: embassy mag
Author: Sneh Duggal
Joseph Lavoie, the acting director of communications for Foreign Minister John Baird, told Embassy the government is still ironing out all the details of the office, but the plan is to launch it this year.
"We're still finalizing the last steps," Mr. Lavoie said.
Several media reports in January cited government sources saying the government would launch the office early in 2012.
The Catholic Register, a newspaper owned by the Archdiocese of Toronto, quoted Mr. Lavoie in a Jan. 24 article saying that his government was "very close" to choosing a launch date.
"It's early in the new year, I would classify early as the first quarter of the new year. So I would say the next month or two," he was quoted as saying, in an article detailing Mr. Baird's sit-down meeting on the office Jan. 18 in Toronto with Canadian faith leaders. A photo release about the meeting called the office's creation a "key priority" for the government.
Mr. Lavoie said on Aug. 2 that the government's goal has always been to announce the office in 2012. "So we still have a couple of months before the time runs out," he said.
Peter Bhatti, chairman of International Christian Voice, said he is grateful that the government plans to set up the office. The government consulted him on the office's launch.
"They told me in April it would be announced soon, and now it's August and still there's nothing happened...it will be much better if they announce as soon as possible," he said.
Mr. Bhatti accepted an award from the Harper government earlier this year on behalf of his late brother, Shahbaz, who was Pakistan's minorities minister when he was assassinated in 2011 for his defence of religious groups such as Christians, who he believed were targeted by the country's blasphemy law.
Mr. Bhatti said on Aug. 6 that a Conservative member of Parliament told him just a few days before that an ambassador would likely be chosen in September.
"When we have chosen the person, you can expect us to announce it," Mr. Lavoie said.
Mr. Bhatti recognized that the government has been consulting many people and groups on the office, and that the position would carry a lot of responsibility.
The government would need to be careful to find someone with the ability to balance different religions and faiths, he said.
"My understanding is they're working on identifying and getting the right candidate for that position [of ambassador]," said Robert Joustra, a researcher with Cardus, a think tank that says it draws on "more than 2000 years of Christian social thought" to "enrich and challenge public debate."
"This is sheer speculation because it's taken a while, [but] I expect that's proven to be trickier than they initially thought, which is not a real surprise," he said.
Mr. Joustra is also finishing a doctorate on religious freedom at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom.
He said the ambassadorial position would be difficult to fill because of political sensitivities.
"Are you going to choose someone from a specific religious tradition? Are you going to choose someone who is more widely read?" he questioned.
But in the end, he said he would like to see the government do it right.
"I think people were expecting an announcement before the summer came. Obviously no one expects much during the summer," he said. "I was surprised that nothing had taken place by then, but I know they're working diligently at it."
Don Hutchinson, vice-president and general legal counsel for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, echoed some of Mr. Joustra's comments.
He said representatives from religious communities have said to the government that it is important to get the structure of the office right the first time.
"I respect that the government appears to have placed getting it right ahead of getting it done fast," he said.
"It will be a challenging role so the decision must be taken with some care," said Geoffrey Cameron, a principal researcher with the Bahá'í Community of Canada.
He added that it seems the human rights policy division within the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was helping with some of the administrative work that needed to be sorted out around the office's budget and personnel.
An important choice
Bob Dechert, a parliamentary secretary to Mr. Baird, told attendees at the Second Parliamentary Forum on Religious Freedom and Governance on April 2 that Prime Minister Stephen Harper planned to appoint an ambassador to head the new office. The Conservatives promised an annual budget of $5 million for the office in their last election platform.
The United States has an ambassador in its international religious freedom office.
Mr. Cameron said it would be important for the ambassador to understand the international human rights framework along with international law. The person selected would also need to be able to engage with a wide range of people, he said.
Amin Elshorbagy, the president of the Canadian Islamic Congress, said that the ambassador should be balanced and have an understanding of different cultures.
Meanwhile, Thomas Farr wrote in an email that the office needed someone with experience conducting international diplomacy. The ambassador would also need to have knowledge of the meaning and reach of religious freedom, said Mr. Farr, who served as the first director of the US Office of International Religious Freedom, launched in 1998.
Mr. Farr also noted the importance of being able to work with foreign governments and societies as different as Egypt, China, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria.
"The choice of the new ambassador is a very important one for Canada and its foreign policy," he said.
Arvind Sharma, a professor with McGill University's religious studies faculty, said whom the government chooses is not as important as what the person does.
Consulting around the globe
Mr. Baird and his staff were busy last summer and fall talking with Canadian and global religious representatives about how the government should set up the office.
Mr. Lavoie pointed out that Mr. Baird has sought input from the head of the worldwide Ahmadiyya community, the Aga Khan, a Holy See representative, the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, and the US religious freedoms ambassador.
In May, Mr. Baird was in Washington delivering a speech on religious freedom at the Religious Liberty Dinner at the Canadian Embassy.
Mr. Sharma said a group of McGill University faculty members came to Ottawa with some students in July to discuss the office with DFAIT officials.
While there might have been a range of consultations, he noted that some observers have been critical of the government's meeting last October, which drew in religious representatives and a group of panellists.
"People felt that only some people had been asked [to attend]; it was not broad enough," he said.
Original Article
Source: embassy mag
Author: Sneh Duggal
No comments:
Post a Comment