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OTTAWA — The Liberal government is extending the term of Canada’s ambassador for religious freedom — at least until it can decide what to do with him.

Photo by Darren Brown / Ottawa Citizen

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Andrew Bennett’s three-year stint as ambassador was set to expire this coming Friday, but Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion said Monday it is being extended until at least the end of March as the government weighs “how best to preserve and protect all human rights, including the vital freedom of religion or belief.”

“Dr. Andrew Bennett has shown remarkable ingenuity, sensitivity and competency over the past three years in serving as head of Canada’s Office for Religious Freedom and we are grateful for his continued service,” Dion added in an emailed statement.

Bennett is Canada’s first, and so far only, ambassador for religious freedom after the previous Conservative government established the Office of Religious Freedom inside the Foreign Affairs department (now known as Global Affairs Canada) in February 2013.