Uganda’s controversial “kill-the-gays” bill is now making waves in Canada, where the federal government is reviewing international development funds allocated to an evangelical group that opposes homosexuality.
According to the Globe and Mail, the Canadian government “has denounced virulent homophobia in Uganda. As a result, it now is questioning its allocation of more than $544,000 to Ontario-based Crossroads Christian Communications, which believes homosexuality is sinful.
The funding debate prompted one Canadian member of parliament to remark that evangelical groups with these views go “‘completely against not only Canadian values, but Canadian law.'” Canada has previously spoken out against persecution of homosexuality in Uganda, where a controversial bill that formerly proposed the death penalty for gays and lesbians is still making its way through the legislature.
The Evangelical Fellowship of Canada responded to the Globe and Mail report and defended Crossroads in a blog post, stating that “Crossroads has done nothing wrong” and the organization’s “working relationship [with the government] is beneficial to Canadians, complies with Canada’s constitution and laws and was properly assessed based on the Canadian government’s desire for maximum value for funding in pursuit of its overseas objectives.”
CT has previously reported on Uganda and its anti-homosexuality bill. CT also has reported how American evangelical leaders condemned the bill but Ugandan Christian leaders dismissed this as cultural imperialism.
