Umer Jan, 12 takes part in a rally to encourage Canada and other countries as they consider labelling China’s treatment of its Uygur population and Muslim minorities as genocide, outside the Canadian embassy in Washington, on February 19. Photo: Reuters

Letters | Canada vote on Uygurs: in defence of religious diversity, not separatism

The Chinese ambassador should recognise that Canada has a different tradition of recognising religious diversity

Published: 1:30am, 27 Feb 2021

This is in reference to “Canadian lawmakers vote to declare China is committing genocide, but Justin Trudeau and cabinet abstain” (February 23).

The Chinese ambassador to Canada, Cong Peiwu, has accused the Canadian government of “spreading disinformation and even lies” concerning the treatment of Uygurs.

However, the best way for China to counter such accusations is to allow international journalists to visit these so-called vocational training camps and privately interview detainees there as well as Uygurs in the general community.

Canadians realise that independent journalists can often recognise flaws in policy and administration that are not obvious to a national government. That is also true within Canada itself.

The Chinese ambassador should recognise that Canada has a different tradition of recognising religious diversity.

In 1774, the Quebec Act of the British parliament gave Roman Catholics the full right to participate in the government of the colony. That was several decades before Catholics had the right to sit in the British parliament and more than 90 years before Canada became an independent country. It was one of the first laws in the modern world to recognise local religious freedom.

In criticising Canada, the ambassador should realise that we believe a country can be unified even when there is a significant degree of religious diversity.

For Canadians, allowing religious freedom is not tantamount to promoting separatism.

Bruce Couchman, Ottawa