Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion has given his strongest indication yet that the writing is on the wall for Canada’s Office of Religious Freedom.

Speaking at a foreign policy conference Thursday, Dion said the Liberal government, like the Conservatives before them, will continue to champion religious freedom abroad. But he said religious freedom should not be “disconnected” from other human rights.

“Human rights are interdependent, universal and indivisible,” he said. “How can you enjoy freedom of religion if you don’t have freedom of conscience? Freedom of speech? Freedom of mobility?”

The previous Conservative government established the Office of Religious Freedom inside the Foreign Affairs department (now known as Global Affairs Canada) in February 2013. Headed by an ambassador for religious freedom, its mandate is to speak out and work against religious intolerance.

Unless the Liberal government intervenes, however, Andrew Bennett’s three-year term as ambassador will expire Feb. 18. The office’s mandate and funding, which was set at about $5 million a year, also runs out on March 31.

Conservative foreign affairs critics and some faith groups, including organizations representing Jewish, Sikh and Ahmadiyya Muslim Canadians, have asked that the Liberals let the office continue its work. They say its mandate is more important now than ever, thanks to the role of religion in geopolitics.

But Dion, who described theocratism as a major obstacle to advancing of human rights in different countries, said championing all rights is essential. “All rights are together,” he said. “So that will be our approach to see improvements of human rights in Canada and around the world.”