To Whom It May Concern:
My name is XXXXXXX and I am a master mason under two grand lodges which are in mutual recognition with the Grand Lodge of Canada in Ontario - the Grand Lodge of North Carolina, AFAM and the United Grand Lodge of England. I am writing today to express concern to you, as a master mason, about a local lodge under the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge.
The Whitby Masonic Center is renting rooms to a organization called the Freeman Society. This group has goals that are contrary to the master masons' oath because, through renting rooms to them, it could bring the fraternity into disrepute. The Freeman Society advocates that its members are above Canada's soverign law and practice what courts call "paper terrorism" by filing meaningless pseudo-legal documents meant to clog up court systems and halt due process. Because members of this group and associated groups in other countries think they are literally above the law, there have been numerous incidents of its members being involved in shootings with police in both Canada, the United States, and Great Britain.
As you are probably aware, anytime a masonic lodge rents rooms to a group the public at large will associate the group with the fraternity and de facto assume the fraternity approves of it. This is of course a wrong assumption, but its the same reason why lodges here in the United States would never rent to extremist political groups or racist groups like the KKK. I am quite sure the Whitby Masonic Center rented the rooms without understanding the type of group they are renting to - but this group is holding a "conference" to promote its ideas on May 26 and 27 according to the Center's calendar (
http://whitbymasoniccentre.famundo.com/calendars?day=31&month=05&year=2012).
I urge someone from the Grand Lodge of Canda to please take action to inform Whitby Masonic Center about this group and to strongly consider asking them to cancel this rental. I know that lodges around the world are hurting financially and its a tough request to ask any lodge to give up revenue like this, especially when its so needed, but by allowing this group to hold a meeting in a masonic center it almost certainly will damage the reputation of the fraternity.
