Archive for December, 2013

Last month, South Korean media reported the execution of 80 people in North Korea, killed for among other crimes, possession of a Bible. While North Korea may be the most extreme case, unfortunately, it is not the only country in the world that practices religious persecution.

Religious freedom is an inalienable right deeply intertwined with our other rights.  Freedom to proselytize, to convert, to worship are all elements of religious freedom that are denied in dozens of countries around the world.

Our Government’s establishment of the Office of Religious Freedom clearly shows that Canada continues to view religious freedom as a fundamental value.  We will continue to promote religious freedom throughout the world.

Canadian MPs, as individual parliamentarians, must continue to press governments around the world on behalf of the persecuted everywhere: On behalf of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan, Chaldean Christians in Iraq, and Evangelical Protestants in Vietnam.  We owe religious minorities our voice in defending their rights both in Canada and abroad.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.

I’ve gotten quite a bit of reaction to my last householder that was mailed throughout the riding. My questionnaire on Senate reform (whether or not the Senate of Canada should be changed) generated the most feedback I received from constituents.

People tended to focus on two major themes:

1. First, people were very direct about what they thought of the ethical lapses of certain Senators who have been in the news.
2. Second, my constituents were very direct about what they thought of the institutional value of the current Senate. Their remarks were not very positive.

While not disagreeing with the first view point, I tend to lean toward the second view.  Whether by referendum or constitutional amendment, something drastic needs to be done about the Senate of Canada. The major problem with the Senate is not a few Senators who behaved dishonorably — it is the entire institution and the way it functions that needs to be changed.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can reach my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. Feel free to drop by my two offices for a visit: Saskatoon (Monday to Friday) or Humboldt (Tuesday and Wednesday). I always appreciate your feedback.