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		National Town Hall Meeting on Public Ethics 01 September 2021, 22h30 EST (UTC-5) https://www.maharaj.org/blog/2021_09_01.shtml My Questions to the Party Candidates Click image to see the video Canada’s faith communities organised Faithful Election Conversation 2021, a National Town Hall Meeting for Canadians of all faiths and of none, to debate public ethics during the 2021 federal General Election campaign. Geoff Cameron of the Bahá’í Community of Canada interviewed me about the role of the federal government in combatting xenophobia and intolerance. The four party representatives then responded to me. Charlie Angus spoke for the NDP, Garnett Genuis for the Conservative Party, Elizabeth May for the Green Party, and John McKay for the Liberal Party. The Bloc Québecois declined to send a representative. During the pandemic, we have seen faith groups rushing to fill gaps in our public safety net, running food banks, providing emotional support for isolated Canadians, and offering shelter for the homeless. We have also been made to confront the history religious institutions being used as instruments of state power, running government-mandated Indigenous residential schools, and in doing so, becoming agents of crimes against humanity. What is the role of ideas and values from religious traditions in our contemporary and pluralistic democracy? Can cutthroat politics co-exist with the universal religious exhortation to “love our neighbour”? The video of the full event is available online.
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