By Hilary White
OTTAWA, October 4, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Harper government has vowed to protect the rights of religious people in Canada in the face of anti-Christian insults and attacks on religious freedom by Liberal opposition interim leader Bill Graham.
Yesterday, LifeSiteNews.com reported that Graham had chastised the government for appointing Darrel Reid, a former head of the Christian organization, Focus on the Family, as Chief of Staff to Environment Minister Rona Ambrose, calling the appointment an “affront to our democracy.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today responded that while the government and the Conservative Party “defend the equality rights of gay and lesbian Canadians…We also defend the right of people of religious faith to practice their religion and to express their religious views.”
Graham attacked Reid in the House, saying that his opposition to the same-sex “marriage” legislation had disqualified him for public service. The Liberal Party issued a letter they called a “reality check” quoting Reid saying, “We are called to speak biblical truth to seek justice – and that obviously has implications for our political life.”
A Liberal Party spokesman was unable to clarify exactly what was wrong with Reid’s statements. “We just decided to highlight the quote made by Mr Reid and it’ll be up to Canadians to see if they think this person is fit to work in a minister’s office,” Bill Graham’s press secretary told LifeSiteNews.com.
In a media release today, the Executive Director of the Institute for Canadian Values, Joseph Ben Ami, said that as a Jew, he deplored an attack based on a person’s religious faith. “This is just one more sign of the real and growing menace of anti-religious bigotry on the political left in Canada that Canadians need to be alert to,” said Ben-Ami.
“It reminds me of how people used to be encouraged to vote against a particular candidate just because that candidate was Jewish.”
“This is Canada,” Ben Ami said. “An individual’s religious faith is not a legitimate target to attack in order to score cheap political points. It’s especially inappropriate when that individual does not even hold elected office.”
“Intolerance for sincere and constructive dissent, are more than just ‘un-Canadian’ – they are, in fact, fundamentally anti-liberal and are the hallmark of totalitarian regimes throughout history,” Ben-Ami continued.
Liberal Leader Calls Christian’s Appointment an “Affront to Our Democracy
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/oct/06100306.html