Canada to lecture ROTW on religious freedom (especially for the non-religious)

In a bout of holier-than-thou hypocrisy rare even for him, Canadian Prime Minister "Call me Steve" Harper yesterday announced the establishment of Canada's brand new, ultra-PC Office of Religious Freedom.

With a staff of five and a budget of C$5,000,000 -- that would be about a million per head -- the ORF is about "building awareness about the issue of religious freedom abroad," according to its head, Dr. Andrew Bennett. And not just abroad! "It's [also] about interacting with the various communities here in Canada who are in the diaspora from these areas where religious freedom is not respected."

And who might they be? Well, errr, Muslims for example. And Tibetan Buddhists. And Sikhs. And did we mention Muslims? Immigrants (legal and illegal), refugees and asylum-seekers -- all potential voters. (If you think illegal immigrants don't get to vote in Canada, Walt has some land in Nunavut he'd like to talk to you about.)

Nothing was said about protecting the freedom of Canadian Christians to preach and practise their religion, free from government interference (as in the so-called Catholic schools) and attacks by secular humanists (in the lamestream media, particularly the CBC).

But noooo, says Mr. Harpoon. "This is not an office to promote any particular religion. It is an office to promote religious diversity and religious tolerance around the world." Ah yes. Diversity and tolerance.

And pluralism. Don't forget "pluralism", another PC buzzword of the day. "People who choose not to believe, that's a valid religious and democratic perspective that we all must also accept and promote," said the PM. "We're not trying to oppose, we're trying to respect people's own religions, their own faith choices, or non-faith choices, and not impose those choices on others. Just as it is important that religion be respected in a pluralistic and democratic society by those who don't share religion, it is likewise expected in a very religious society that those who don't share faith will be respected." (Walt's italics.)

So you see, it's just another part of the Canadian Conservatives' initiative to Draw All Faiths Together (DAFT). Yes...ORF is DAFT. No doubt about it. But will Canadians tell Harper to bugger ORF? Not likely. (Lifetime pct .990)