“Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.” - L. Ron Hubbard

Long History Promoting Rights

The Church of Scientology of Toronto has a long history of promoting human rights, not just for Scientologists but for all Canadians. In 1984, members of the Church were appalled by a survey which found that the vast majority of Canadians were totally uninformed about their rights guaranteed under the recently enacted Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Thus the Constitutional Quiz was borne.

Continuing for five years, this program distributed hundreds of thousands of copies of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms across Ontario. It was not only given out in English and French but Polish, Portuguese, Italian, Greek, French, Ukrainian, Spanish, and German as well. Scientologists travelled to major cities around the province and publicly quizzed citizens on their rights. This led to countless news articles, radio and TV spots highlighting this glaring lack of critical knowledge and promoting the importance of the Charter.

Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

In 1998, for the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a Scientologist was one of the deputy vice-chairman of the Greater Toronto committee that set out to plan events for the year-long commemoration. The committee was comprised of some of the top human rights organizations in Canada, both government and public, including the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Ontario Human Rights Commission, Heritage Canada and Amnesty International. Over the year, a series of events were staged to celebrate the UDHR including a major human rights film festival, a large-scale youth human rights art competition, and a December 10th celebration staged at the Ontario Legislature hosted by the Ontario Minister of Culture.

Working for Human Rights Around the Planet

For the last six years, representatives of the Church of Scientology of Toronto have been invited to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs annual consultation with non-governmental organizations. This consultation is held prior to the meetings of the United Nations Committee on Human Rights in Geneva. The purpose of these meetings is for Foreign Affairs staff to get briefed on areas of human rights concerns by Canadian organizations and to represent these concerns in Geneva. On two occasions Church representatives participated in organized roundtables on religious freedom issues around the world.

Promoting Human Rights through the UDHR

The Toronto Church works closely with the Human Rights Department of the Church of Scientology International. The goal is to make human rights a reality for everyone. This goal can be achieved if everyone becomes aware of and demands their human rights. These rights are best set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights which has signed by 191 nations of Earth. However, this document and the rights contained in it are virtually unknown to the vast multitude of the peoples of Earth. The Church of Scientology is therefore promoting the UDHR broadly around the planet through publications such as “Know Your Human Rights,” an illustrated handbook on the rights set forth in the UDHR, and how to uphold them and “A Guidebook to Peace Through Human Rights” which teaches basic human rights and how they can be used to bring peace. Over a million copies have been distributed around the world.

Youth for Human Rights

The Church of Scientology of Toronto also works closely with Youth for Human Rights International (YHRI), which promotes the UDHR to youth. YHRI utilies the booklet What are Human Rights?, a visual guide to human rights for the young and has produced an award winning music video UNITED promoting human rights.

Youth for Human Rights Canada was launched with an event in the rotunda of Toronto City Hall in November 2005. Keynote speakers included Steve Haschemi, a human rights activist, and Mary Shuttleworth, founder of YHRI. With over 250 people in attendance, Ms. Shuttleworth presented a special recognition to Dorothy Peterson, daughter of Canadian lawyer John Humphrey, for her father's role in the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

For more information on the Human Rights activities of the Church, contact us.