Ohio state legislators say Canada belongs on the Religious Persecution Watch List (RPWL) of countries where Christians face extreme persecution..Specifically condemning the treatment of pastors in Alberta and Manitoba during COVID-19 crackdowns, they introduced a resolution urging the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to add Canada to the RPWL..They also took issue with the interference in the right to worship for Canadians..Being on the watch list would put Canada in league with Afghanistan, North Korea, China, Yemen, Pakistan, Cuba, Indonesia, and a host of other nations where Christians are targeted, punished, tortured, jailed — and often killed — for practising their beliefs..The resolution was introduced last week as Calgary Pastor Art Pawlowski sat in solitary confinement, where he remains at the Calgary Remand Centre. He faces charges of inciting violence at the Sweetgrass-Coutts border crossing during the Freedom Convoy protests..Punishments handed out to Pawlowski, as well as Edmonton Pastor James Coates, Calgary Pastor Tim Stephens, and Hanover, Man. Pastor Tobias Tissen were referenced in the resolution. .The six-page resolution, introduced by Republicans Reggie Stoltzfus and Timothy Ginter and co-sponsored by 11 Republican representatives, took aim at Canadian authorities..“We, the members of the House of Representatives of the 134th General Assembly of the State of Ohio, have taken note of the abuses of religious liberty that have gone on throughout the Provinces of Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated the resolution that called for Canada to be placed on the watch list..The freedom-loving people of America must “stand with our neighbors,” said Ginter..“We have seen examples of the Canadian government violating their citizens’ rights of religious worship by not allowing them to hold services, jailing pastors that disobey and given religious leaders scripts to place into their sermons,” said Stoltzfus..Pawlowski, pastor with Street Church and the Cave of Adullam, was arrested multiple times for not complying with COVID-19 health orders..Last Spring Coates, a pastor at GraceLife Church, spent 35 days in jail for violating a bail condition to comply with COVID-19 health orders..Tissen, pastor at the Church of God Restoration, was jailed last October on the same charges and has been handed tens of thousands of dollars in fines..Tim Stephens, pastor of Calgary Fairview Baptist Church, was arrested last June for “flouting” pandemic health orders..All pastors openly criticized the overreach of federal and provincial COVID-19 mandates, including restrictions placed on the number of people allowed to attend their church services..Throughout nearly two years of pandemic mandates, the only faith groups known to be penalized in Canada were Christians. .In Alberta, they may be among those “who perhaps never belonged to a party before” that Premier Jason Kenney worried would show up at the April 9 special general meeting in Red Deer..Kenney described these unwelcome Albertans as the “angry” type who might use his leadership review as “a platform” to vent about his COVID-19 measures..As the resolution indicates, even the U.S. took note of harsh measures enacted by the Kenney government that riled many Albertans..Pawlowski’s denial of bail and banishment to solitary confinement generated outrage and prompted 10,000 people to sign a letter addressed to members of the U.S. Congress to condemn “egregious” violations of religious liberties..“There is no recognition of his Canadian Constitutional rights. His “crime?” Standing for freedom,” states the letter..“Having been born and raised behind the Iron Curtain in Poland and later immigrating to Canada, Pastor Artur treasures liberty and is a friend and brother of the United States of America in our own fight against tyranny.”.The letter noted Pawlowski travelled to the U.S. in 2021 to alert Americans to the “clear and present danger of tyrannical control coming our way” if not stopped..“Your own refusal to be silent for Pastor Artur will be heard across the United States, Canada, and across the world now and in the future.”.The letter also urged the legislators to stand for liberty and the right to worship “without fear of government interference or arrests for doing so..“What happens in Canada affects Americans. We understand that if it can happen right next door to our Great Nation, it can happen here,” stated the letter..The USCIRF is a bipartisan federal government agency that serves as a watchdog to monitor the universal right to freedom of religion and make policy recommendations to Congress. It then tracks measures taken..Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
