The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada plans to launch a national newspaper to be called Muslim Free Press in April. The objective of the initiative is to "better educate Canadians about Islamic issues." The paper is to be published bi-weekly in Calgary, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

The paper will be free and a French language version will be available in Quebec. The planned launch date for the paper is April 15th, in Toronto. It will cover international and Canadian news and will also include commentary on cultural issues.

The President of the Council Syed Soharwardy is to be the editor of the future paper. He has confirmed that one of the reasons for launching the paper is the recent Mohammed cartoons controversy. Sohardwardy desires his paper to bring together the Muslim community: "We will bring people with different denominations within the Muslim community together. This will not be a newspaper or news magazine of a specific denomination. This will represent the broader Muslim community." He asserts that his paper will promote freedom of expression.

Source: CBC.ca (through the IFRA newsletter)