This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002138 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/CRA, DRL/IRF, DRL/PHD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KIRF CA
SUBJECT: INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM REPORT FOR CANADA 
- 2003 (REVISED) 
 
REF: A. STATE 194330 B. OTTAWA 01480 
 
¶1. Sensitive but Unclassified - please protect accordingly. 
 
¶2. (SBU) 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 
denominations 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 
 
Add the following as paragraph 2 (new):  Some religious 
holidays are national holidays, specifically, Christmas Day, 
Good Friday, and Easter Monday. These holidays do not have a 
negative impact on any religious group. 
 
Paragraph 3 that begins, "The Constitution and..." -- this is 
now paragraph 4 and should be revised 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. 
A standing committee on justice and human rights organized by 
the Parliament of Canada is currently conducting public 
hearings around Canada 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, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada 
increased again during this period, and there are continuing 
expressions of anti-Muslim feeling as well. There appeared to 
be a correlation between this increase, and the continuing 
violence in the Middle East. 
 
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 was 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 
CAIR. The build-up to the war in Iraq stirred up some 
anti-Muslim feeling, but also resulted in some expressions of 
compassion toward Muslims. The main forms of prejudice 
experienced by Muslims were verbal abuse, religious or ethnic 
profiling, and discrimination in the workplace. Mixed 
feelings arose when a Christian evangelical group sent 
humanitarian aid to Iraq. Some Muslims believe the government 
of Canada is 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 recently 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. 
 
Add the following:  There are no persons imprisoned or 
detained in Canada as a result of  their religious beliefs. 
CELLUCCI