Secular Groups Left Out of Office of Religious Freedom Announcement

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 19, 2013) - Humanist Canada and Centre for Inquiry (CFI), the two largest secular organizations in Canada, today released a joint statement in response to the announcement of the Office of Religious Freedom, which calls on Minister Baird to include the perspectives of the non-religious in the new office.
The Office of Religious Freedom will be an agency under the Foreign Ministry which investigates discrimination on the basis of religion. No secular groups were consulted or invited to participate in the announcement. "We are deeply concerned that this will set a precedent for future operations of this agency," said Humanist Canada's President, Simon Parcher. "It's imperative that the Government of Canada protect the rights of those who choose to live a life without religion."
Accompanying the statement was a report from the CFI Office of Public Policy which details International cases of discrimination against non-religious people. "In many parts of the world the very existence of atheism is outlawed," said Michael Payton, Director of CFI Canada, "in some cases punishable by death."
Both groups stated that while they applaud the diversity displayed by the announcement, they are concerned that the Foreign Minister may ignore the plight of non-religious people across the world.
In September 2012, speaking to the UN, Minister Baird stated, "we don't see agnosticism or atheism as being in need of defence in the same way persecuted religious minorities are."

Gay-Straight Alliances Must Be Supported in New Legislation: National Atheist Organization

The Centre for Inquiry - a vocal champion of the constitutional right of students to form Gay-Straight Alliance clubs - has joined the Ontario GSA Coalition in calling for the immediate passage of Bills 13 and 14.

CFI will participate in a rally May 12 at 1pm at Queen's Park and will present in front of the Standing Committee on Social Policy on May 15 at 7:15pm.

"The emotionally-charged rhetoric of many testimonies thus far are distractions from some simple facts," said CFI National Communications Director Justin Trottier.

Research shows three-quarters of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school and that GSA clubs are one part of the solution. Supporting GSAs is not treating one group differently. Those who oppose GSAs are guilty of doing just that.

"Rants about government attacks on religion and social engineering are completely backwards," said Trottier. "Continued government funding to an institution that violates equality rights, namely the Catholic school system, which is more publicly funded than the Public School System, is tantamount to government endorsement - not attack - of one particular religion."

"Children have rights too," said Trottier. "At the end of the day this comes down to students voluntarily exercising their constitutional right to freedom of association in a public institution. No one is forced to join anything."

Catholic School Boards vs. Gay-Straight Student Alliances - Stop the public funding! (Panel / Q&A)

 Next Friday I will be taking part in a panel discussion and question and answer session. I hope you can join us.

Friday, May 13^th 2011 at 7:00 pm

Centre for Inquiry, 216 Beverley Street (just south of College and St. George)

Part of CFI Ontario's ongoing "Voices of Reason" Series

Catholic School Boards vs. Gay-Straight Student Alliances - Stop the public funding of religious separate schools! (Panel / Audience Q&A)

Panel includes:

• Andrea Houston, News Reporter, XTRA Magazine 
• Mark Daye, candidate for the Green Party of Ontario in the riding of Toronto Centre. He lives with his husband and son and works for a national ergonomics and accessibility consulting firm as VP of Finance. A dedicated activist, Mark is passionate about human rights, free speech and the environment.
• TBA Member of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA)
• Casey Oraa, representing Queer Ontario  
• Leanne Iskander, student at St Joseph Catholic Secondary School in Mississauga and the founder of the St. Joes Gay-Straight Alliance
• Justin Trottier, representing CFI, Canadian Secular Alliance, and One School System Network
• Justin Stayshyn, blogger and producer 

Join us at the Centre to hear from an expert panel followed by audience Q&A.
The event is being held at CFI Ontario,
216 Beverly Street, Toronto | Map
General admission is $5 general, $4 students,
cash at the door only
FREE for CFI Members | Become a member

Seating begins at 6:15 p.m. Come early;
first-come basis; attendance expected to surpass capacity
For your convenience we also coordinate this and other events and invite online discussion at the following social networking sites:

Meetup.com
Facebook

We are able to host this and many other events of its kind due to memberships and donations given by people just like you. For reasons to join Centre for Inquiry, a full list of membership incentives and membership level options:

CFI Canada Support Page

Centre for Inquiry aims to foster a secular society by promoting reason, science, secularism and freedom of inquiry in every area of human endeavour.