Ohio state legislators introduced a resolution Tuesday asking the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) to add Canada to its watchlist due to the country’s recent treatment of clergy members.
Since the pandemic began, Canadian authorities have imprisoned pastors, locked buildings, and levied steep fines for churches acting in defiance of government COVID-19 measures.
Introduced by Republican state Reps. Reggie Stoltzfus and Timothy Ginter, and cosponsored by 11 state House Republicans, the resolution referenced the historic legacy of religious freedom in Canada, the United States and Ohio and denounced the way Canadian clergy have been recently treated by 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," the resolution reads.
Pastor Artur Pawlowski has been held at the Calgary Remand Centre for the past three weeks after speaking at the anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy trucker protest along the U.S.-Canadian border, the resolution stated.
The pastor and his brother, Dawid, have been repeatedly arrested after Artur refused to limit church attendance, as mandated by a court order.
The resolution also criticized Canada’s Bill C-4, which carries a potential five-year prison term for counseling that does not affirm homosexuality and transgender identity.
"This act is overly broad in scope and has potential negative implications for religious liberties and expression, including a prison sentence of up to five years for merely expressing a biblical view of marriage, thus restricting the ability of religious leaders from expressing sincerely held religious beliefs on marriage and sexuality," the resolution read.
On Jan. 16, pastors at approximately 5,000 Canadian and American churches used their sermons to protest the bill, according to the resolution.
The Ohio resolution comes after U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent a letter to USCIRF last June urging it to consider adding Canada to its watchlist.
Hawley’s letter was sent after a pastor, Tim Stephens of Calgary, was arrested for the second time when a police helicopter detected his Fairview Baptist Church congregation gathering outside.
Speaking to Rebel News at the Conservative Political Action Conference last Sunday, in Orlando, Florida, Hawley reiterated his thoughts on Canada.
"The United States keeps a designation of folks who are religious liberty violators, nations that are religious liberty violators," he told Rebel News. "I've called for Canada to be put on that list, and I think that we need to consider all of the options that are available for that."
The resolution also spotlighted another pastor, James Coates, of Edmonton, Alberta, who was imprisoned for more than a month last year for keeping his church open, and Tobias Tissen, a pastor in Steinbach, Manitoba, who was arrested in October for holding church services in violation of a public health order banning outdoor gatherings of more than five people.
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