In The Duel, 24 hours columnists David Eby and Kathryn Marshall battle over the issues of the day. Who's the winner this week? Fire us an email at van24feedback@sunmedia.ca. 150 words or less please.

THIS WEEK'S TOPIC - Is religious freedom in prison being violated?

When Stephen Harper announced his plan to launch an Office of Religious Freedom, Canadians can be forgiven for thinking that he was interested in promoting religious freedom.

In his press release announcing the establishment of the office while he was on the campaign trail, the Prime Minister said that the office "will signal to religious minorities everywhere that they have a friend in Canada." He told the media: "A re-elected Conservative government will continue to be a champion for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience around the world."

What a difference a year makes.

Last week, the federal government reached down from the mountaintop to kill a religious program for prisoners because that program involved a religion they didn't like. They allowed the program to continue for religions they do like.

Read Kathryn Marshall's column

Religious freedoms indeed - so long as you've chosen the right religion.

Prisons in Canada provide shockingly few rehabilitative and support services for prisoners to encourage them to rehabilitate themselves and re-enter society. One of the few programs that do exist in federal prison is a program that gives prisoners access to religious chaplains of the religion of their choosing.

Catholic, First Nations, Jewish, Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu prisoners can have a spiritual leader or elder come and let them know how to get into heaven, or educate them on traditional beliefs and religious practices, or offer general counselling.

I'm sure atheists are given a copy of Darwin's On the Origin of Species, or access to an evolutionary biologist. Agnostics seem indifferent to accessing anyone.

When Corrections Canada issued a posting requesting spiritual services from a Wiccan chaplain for 17 hours a month, a service to equally match services already available for other religions and which was in demand from some prisoners, that posting was consistent with the equal treatment of all religions. But the feds killed the program - just for the Wiccan chaplain. Everyone else could carry on praying or meditiating or learning or working their way to heaven or to the preferred outcome of their choice.

Unfair treatment of religious minorities is ostensibly the very problem that the Office of Religious Freedom was set up to address. The government is simply wrong to play favourites with religious beliefs and they don't need an Office of Religious Freedom to tell them that.