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Prime Minister and Opposition Leader Speak on Faith and Public Policy

By John-Henry Westen

OTTAWA, January 16, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Conservative Leader Stephen Harper have both responded to a question on faith and public policy posed by Faith Today, a magazine put out by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.  Faith Today asked: "What role do you think faith should play in developing public policy, and what is the place of religious institutions in contemporary Canadian society?"

The Prime Minister, a self-professed "very strong Roman Catholic", a stance which is hotly contested by most practicing Catholics in Canada, responded with the rosy but false assertion that "Those who choose to adopt Canada as their new home as well as those who have been established here for generations know they can be free to practise their religion, follow their faith and live as they want to live."

In his response to the question, Opposition Leader Harper pointed out that in Canada, "Sadly, freedom of religion has come under attack in recent years in cases ranging from religious organizations being expected to rent facilities for same-sex marriages to pastors being threatened with human rights charges for expressing their religious beliefs."   Harper noted that, "Government must respect these convictions and not attempt to interfere in the free public expression of religious belief."  He concluded stating, "A Conservative government will be vigilant to ensure that freedom of religion is protected in Canada."

In his response, Martin demonstrated amply how out of touch he is with believers in Canada.  "As Prime Minister and Canadian citizen, I am an ardent believer in . . .", said Martin, not God, but "the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms."  He did add that the Charter "recognizes the supremacy of God in the preamble and enshrines freedom of religion, among other basic freedoms, of our highest law."

Harper on the other hand, was able to address the question posed by Faith Today to the satisfaction of most Christians.  "Canada is a multicultural and pluralistic society," he said, "but this does not mean that faith has to be excluded from public life, but rather that those of different faiths and no faith should seek areas of common agreement based on their different perspectives."  He added, "On an issue like the definition of marriage, for example, citizens and legislators can certainly make reference to the fact that almost all faith communities-not only Catholic, Protestant and Jewish, but Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and native religions as well-consider marriage to be the union of a man and a woman, and to call for this moral consensus to be reflected in civil law."

For the full answers to the questions from Martin, Harper and the NDP Leader see Faith Today:
http://www.faithtoday.ca/article_viewer.asp?Article_ID=189

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