US embassy cable - 03OTTAWA1480

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001480 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR DRL/CRA, DRL/IRF, DRL/PHD, WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, CA 
SUBJECT: CANADA - 2003 RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT 
 
REF: A. OTTAWA 02 1429 
 
1. Sensitive but Unclassified - please protect accordingly. 
 
2. The following constitutes Ottawa's submission for the 2003 
International Religious Freedom Report. 
 
Introduction and Overview 
 
No changes. 
 
Section I:  Religious Demography 
 
Paragraph that begins "There is no state or dominant 
religion..."  - revise as follows: 
 
While there is no state or dominant religion, an estimated 
74.6 percent of the Canadian population belongs to Christian 
dominations or claims Christianity as their religion. Roman 
Catholics (43 percent of the population) constitute the 
largest single religious denomination, followed by Protestant 
denominations (29 percent). United Church, Anglican, 
Presbyterian, Lutheran, Baptist, and Pentecostal are the 
largest Protestant denominations in Canada. 1.1 percent of 
the Canadian population is Jewish.  According to a recent 
government census, the percentage of the population who are 
members of the Muslim faith has increased to 2 percent of the 
population; the number of Muslims in Canada has doubled in 
the 10-year period since the last census. Other religious 
groups in Canada include Buddhists (approximately 1 percent 
of the population); Hindus (1 percent); and Sikhs (1 
percent). The number of persons professing other religions, 
such as Scientology, Baha'i, Shinto, Taoism, aboriginal 
spirituality, and pagan religions, constitutes 0.2 percent of 
the population. The census also reflected that the percentage 
of Canadians claiming no religious affiliation is 16 percent 
of the total population, an increase from 12 percent in the 
last census. 
 
A 2002 poll on religious attitudes by the Pew Research Center 
indicated that approximately 21 percent of Canadians attend 
church on a weekly basis. 30 percent of Canadians, according 
to the survey, said that religion is very important to them. 
 
 
Section II: Status of Religious Freedom 
 
Paragraph 3 that begins, "The Constitution and...," revise as 
follows: 
 
The Constitution of Canada and the Charter of Rights and 
Freedoms protect the rights or privileges possessed by 
denominational schools at the time of national union in 1867. 
 In practice this protection has meant that some provinces 
have funded and continue to fund Catholic school education, 
and some provinces (such as Quebec) have funded some 
Protestant education.  In recent years, the Quebec provincial 
government took steps to abolish Catholic and Protestant 
status for public schools; public schools in Quebec are no 
longer faith-based and are open to all. And the Ontario 
provincial government, which previously had allowed tax 
credits only for tuition paid to Roman Catholic private 
schools, began allowing tax credits for tuition paid to all 
private schools, provided such schools satisfy certain 
educational standards. 
 
There is no official government council for interfaith 
dialogue, but the government of Canada provides funding for 
individual ecumenical projects on a case-by-case basis. 
 
Restrictions on Religious Freedom 
 
Government policy and practice contributed to the generally 
free practice of religion. 
 
Remainder of paragraph beginning "(H)owever, in May 2001...", 
and paragraph beginning "(I)n July 2001..." - delete. 
Replace with the following: 
 
The Supreme Court of Canada recently agreed to hear cases 
brought by groups in Quebec that claim their religious rights 
have been unduly restricted by condominium contracts, and 
municipal bylaws. One case involves a group of Orthodox 
Jewish families, living in a Montreal condominium complex, 
who were barred by the condominium association from 
constructing temporary huts on their balconies to celebrate 
the fall festival of Sukkot. The second case involves a group 
of Jehovah's Witnesses who are seeking the rezoning of a 
tract of land they own, so that a church hall can be built on 
the land. The municipality where the land is located refused 
to rezone the land, because the land would no longer be 
subject to property taxes if a place of worship was built on 
it. Decisions in these cases are expected sometime this year. 
 
A standing committee on justice and human rights organized by 
the Parliament of Canada is currently conducting a series of 
public hearings on the issue of whether homosexual couples 
have the right to marry.  The hearings were organized after 
an Ontario court ruled that the legal definition of marriage 
as a union of one man and one woman violated the equality 
rights of homosexuals. Some of the hearings have resulted in 
spirited debates between gay rights advocates and 
representatives of religious faiths, who assert that marriage 
is a religious and not a political matter, and that religious 
denominations should not be forced into ordaining same-sex 
marriages. The committee is expected to bring its 
recommendations on the issue to Parliament later this year. 
 
There were no reports of religious prisoners or detainees. 
 
Forced Religious Conversion 
 
No changes to this paragraph. 
 
Improved and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious 
Freedom. 
 
Delete sentence beginning "In September 2001..." 
 
Section III.  Societal Attitudes 
 
The generally amicable relationship among the religions in 
society contributes to religious freedom in Canada.  (After 
this sentence, delete remainder of first paragraph, and the 
second, third and fourth paragraphs of this section.  Replace 
with the following:) 
 
However, tension continues to exist between the Jewish and 
Islamic communities in Canada, perhaps reflecting the 
continued conflict in the Middle East. The number of 
anti-Semitic incidents in Canada increased again during this 
period, and there have been expressions of anti-Muslim 
feeling as well. 
 
The B'nai Brith Canada League for Human Rights received 459 
reports of anti-Semitic incidents in 2002, an increase of 173 
incidents from 2001. Incidents included general harassment of 
Jews (282 or 61 percent of the reported incidents), vandalism 
of property (148 or 32 percent), and violence (29 or 6 
percent). In an incident in Montreal on September 9, 2002, 
pro-Palestinian demonstrators assaulted a number of Jews 
during a riot on the Concordia University campus, where 
former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was 
scheduled to give a speech.  In Toronto, there was 
controversy following the July 2002 murder of an orthodox 
Jew. The accused murderer is a young skinhead, and many 
members of the Jewish community believed the victim had been 
killed because of his religion, thus making the murder a hate 
crime. 
 
Expressions of anti-Muslim sentiment continued in Canada 
during this period, according to the Canadian chapter of the 
Council on American Islamic Relations. In a survey released 
in September 2002, 60 percent of Canadian Muslims said they 
had experienced bias or discrimination in the period 
following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The build-up to the 
war in Iraq stirred up some anti-Muslim feeling in Canada, 
but also resulted in some expressions of compassion and 
support towards Muslims. The main forms of prejudice 
experienced by Muslims were verbal abuse, religious or ethnic 
profiling, and discrimination in the workplace. Some Muslims 
believe the government of Canada has been indifferent to 
anti-Muslim attitudes and discrimination. 
 
In November 2002, an information center in Quebec run by the 
Raelian religion was vandalized. Damage to the center, known 
as "UFO Land," amounted to more than C$100,000. The Raelian 
Church of Canada is an officially recognized religion in 
Quebec. The religion, which is based on the idea that 
extraterrestrials created humanity as part of a lab 
experiment, had targeted Quebec high schools as part of its 
ongoing campaign to persuade Roman Catholics to renounce 
their faith. 
 
 
Section IV.  U.S. Government Policy. 
 
The U.S. Government discusses religious freedom issues with 
the Government of Canada in the context of its overall 
dialogue and policy of promoting human rights. 
KELLY