southasiamail.com: TORONTO – The Honourable Judy Sgro, the Member of Parliament for York West and Co-Chair of the Parliamentary Friends of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama`at today released the text of her letter to Minister John Baird. That letter, drafted following Sgro’s attendance at a public viewing for Dr. Mehdi Ali Qamar, a Canadian member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community who was recently assassinated in a faith-based killing. Sgro stated, “I spoke to his friends, to his family and to many from within his community. Of course this is a tragic time and all have many questions regarding the terrible loss of someone so young and committed to helping others. We all want to know if Canada is utilizing every appropriate mechanism at our disposal… including trade, diplomatic and public pressure… Intolerance has claimed yet another life; devastated yet another family, and I believe that Canada can and must do more than we have in the past. It is time for the world to wake up to this type of systemic intolerance and criminal activity and I want Canada to ring the bell” 

Sgro added, “I would be interested in knowing what the government plans to do in response to Dr. Qamar’s murder. I would be more interested in knowing how we can collaborate to prevent the next death… and the one after that.” Sgro closed by saying, “Dr. Qamar’s wife and son deserve to know what their government plans to do in response to his murder. 

While I appreciate the community’s calls for peace and forgiveness, if Canada truly stands for religious freedoms and human rights, then we need to stand for it everywhere. Religious intolerance is cowardly and must never be tolerated. Canada can and must stand against intolerance and increase our calls for acceptance of diversity and for the establishment of human rights protections globally. Let us offer more than our prayers to Dr. Qamar’s family. Now is the time for renewed pressure on world governments who tyrannize the faithful. Let that be Dr. Qamar’s legacy to the world.” 

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