The desire for change is one of the most powerful forces in politics and was key to the Trudeau Liberals' success at the polls. But as the new government considers the future of many of the Conservative party's signature policies, they should remember that thoughtful reflection is more important than change for change's sake. A perfect example is the Office of Religious Freedom. Established in 2013 with a budget of $5 million and a mandate to “promote freedom of religion or belief as a Canadian foreign policy priority,” it provided easy fodder for many critics. Here, they charged, was even more proof that the Harper government was nothing more than a band of right-wing ideologues under the control of harmful evangelical Christian elements. Why else, they asked, would the government attempt to put together the lethal mixture of religion and politics? Why was the Harper government ignoring the fact that many religions worldwide were leading the charge in discriminating against women and the LGBTQ population in their countries? What about protecting atheists? Why were religious rights more important than other human rights? And the list went on. As John Moore wrote in the National Post at the time, “The office is a calculated endeavour designed to pander to domestic faith groups. It is all the more cynical when you consider that this government regards our Charter of Rights and Freedoms as Liberal puffery.” The appointment of Andrew Bennett to head the office as Ambassador only fuelled the fire. Critics charged that he did not have enough gravitas for the post. His portrayal by the media as a conservative Christian meanwhile, added to the suspicion that the office's focus would be on protecting Christians over other faith communities. We have not heard much from the office or its ambassador over the last 2 1/2 years. Although Bennett frequently meets with diplomats, government officials and religious groups at home and abroad and has provided funding for a few projects, his efforts have largely gone unnoticed. Few, if any, it seems, would care about the office's abolishment. But before our knees jerk too quickly and we simply get rid of it, let's do some serious reflection. The persecution of religious minorities is a serious international issue. The inability of persons of different faiths to co-exist in our world is one of the most pressing issues of our times. Nations like Canada have a responsibility to speak out and bring our own experience promoting tolerance and religious accommodation to the discussion. That said, the recent niqab debate demonstrates that we also have work to do at home. International efforts might serve to encourage more domestic discussion about how we should manage our increasingly diverse society. It could also educate us about the important link between religion and culture as well as religion and politics that exists in many nations where there is no neat separation between church and state. We should also not forget that religious groups have played a prominent role in promoting human rights. Churches were a driving force behind the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations in 1948. They helped lead the American civil rights movement and here at home spoke out against apartheid in South Africa and Namibia, human rights abuses in Latin America in the 1980s, and helped lead the Jubilee campaign to forgive debt in the developing world – to cite just a few examples. Currently, faith-based organizations like KAIROS bring together a variety of faiths to promote human rights and social justice around the world. An organization with a solid reputation, it was defunded by the federal government during the Harper years. The hapless attempts by then Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda to defend the decision, including attempts to alter a key document, was a sad chapter in her career that makes the flap over her $16 orange juice pale in comparison. The challenge for the new government is to figure out how to connect all these dots. The promotion of religious freedom needs to be part of a larger story. The right to practise one's religion is a human right. And although it can be highlighted, it can't be separated from other human rights. The Trudeau Liberals claim that the promotion of human rights is a cornerstone of its foreign policy agenda. If so, how can it ensure that the safeguard of religious freedom is part of this agenda? How should the government engage Canada's faith communities and harness not only their international efforts but also their expertise and networks? Our new government has an important opportunity to review and refresh its approach to human rights internationally. In doing so, it has to take a hard look at how protecting religious freedom can play a significant role within those efforts. It is only then that the future of Canada's Office of Religious Freedom should be determined.   John Milloy is a former Ontario cabinet minister who served as MPP for Kitchener Centre from 2003 to 2014.  Prior to that, he worked on Parliament Hill, including five years in the office of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. He is currently the Co-director of the Centre for Public Ethics and Assistant Professor of Public Ethics at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary, and the inaugural Practitioner in Residence in Wilfrid Laurier University's Political Science department. He is also a lecturer in the University of Waterloo's Master of Public Service Program. John can be reached at: [email protected] or follow him on twitter at: @John_Milloy.