Hi fellow Canuck atheists,

I just got a notification about this from the Centre for Inquiry Canada. It's a legitimate government petition, sponsored by Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, MPP for Beaches—East York, asking for nonbelievers/secularists/atheists/etc who are persecuted for not toeing the religious line in their home country to be added to the list of people eligible for "fast track" refugee status. Members of minority religions in countries where they are persecuted are eligible, so why not nonbelievers?

The time frame for signatures closes in two days. Let's show our fellow humans some support!

Link to the petition at the bottom.

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Text of the petition:

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

Whereas:

• Atheists are persecuted in several countries both by government and the public;
• Atheist persecution can result in serious injury, imprisonment, or death at the hands of family members, street mobs, or governments;
• Some countries, including Saudi Arabia, label all atheists as terrorists: this alone should not disqualify them for refugee status;
• The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled several times that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right to freedom from religion as much as the right to freedom of religion, a standard which applies to refugees as well as citizens;
• Atheists are denied access to the Less Complex Claims Policy of Canada because they are excluded from the list of those who qualify, all of whom are members of a religion; and
• This is an urgent matter because the lives of several atheists are currently in danger while awaiting their refugee hearings, which would be avoided if atheists were included in the less complex claims process.

We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to change the policy regarding Less Complex Claims to include atheists in the list of people eligible for the status, so that they will be treated equally with those people belonging to the religions currently listed in the Less Complex Claims policy.

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Link to the Petition:

https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3114