The riding of Oakville North-Burlington, and the Hon. Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety, hosted a meeting of the Halton Interfaith Council on Friday, April 7 at St. Luke’s Community Centre. Reverends Jeff and Sue-Ann Ward from St. Luke’s welcomed Minister Goodale along with MP’s John Oliver (Oakville) and Iqra Khalid, (Mississauga-Erin Mills) and representatives from a number of faith groups across the Halton region.
Minister Goodale spoke about the importance of faith groups in their communities and the vital role they play in promoting national unity, security and public safety. Minister Goodale was impressed with the work that is done by members of the very well organized interfaith group to build an inclusive and welcoming community for all citizens of Halton through education and he learned from their best practices. The council discussed Canada’s national security framework with the Minister and provided input on how to promote greater awareness, understanding and respect amongst all people in our increasingly diverse community.
The Halton Interfaith Group expressed their appreciation for Minister Goodale’s recent announcement on the expansion of the Security Infrastructure Program (SIP) funding. The SIP is designed to help communities at risk of hate-motivated crime improve their security infrastructure.
The Halton Interfaith Council was founded after the events of September 11, 2001 in an effort to bring people of all faith groups together in the spirit of mutual respect, diversity, understanding and acceptance.
