I have been instructed on behalf of our beloved Guardian to answer the questions raised in your recent letter. There are two things which he wishes to impress upon you. The first is that depriving people of their voting rights is the heaviest sanction which can be imposed at the present time (with the exception of excommunication, which is a right the Guardian has never permitted anyone else to exercise). Therefore, the greatest care should be exerted to try and remedy a situation before depriving anybody of their voting rights, and the action itself should only be taken if absolutely necessary. The other point is that the Guardian is very anxious that no more rules and regulations should be introduced by any National Spiritual Assemblies. He has continually impressed this upon the American, the British and other National Bodies. The spirit of the Cause will be stifled, the initiative of the friends killed, and the teaching work come to a stand-still if the friends are continually hemmed in by instructions. In view of this, he has instructed the National Bodies to deal with each case as it arises. The understanding conveyed in the quotation from “Principles of Bahá’í Administration” is correct; also people who are deprived of their voting rights should not receive Bahá’í News or Bulletins, as they are no longer active in the administrative affairs of the Faith. He is very happy at present to have a member(55) of your Assembly visiting Haifa, and hopes that Miss Harvey will carry back to you a fresh impetus from the Holy Land, which will assist the Canadian Assembly members in carrying on their many heavy burdens in the service of the Faith. With warm Bahá’í greetings, R. RABBANI. December 27, 1956. TEACHING MINORITIES National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada. The beloved Guardian has directed me to write you concerning the important matter of teaching the minorities of Canada. He has spoken in some detail to Miss Harvey(56) concerning the subject, and she can and will amplify this communication. He feels it most important that active work be done in connection with the French Canadians, Eskimos, and Indians. You are also now actively in touch with the Poles and Ukrainians in your country. In order to intensify this work, the Guardian feels you should establish a Minorities Teaching Committee, with sub-committees to specialize in the teaching of French Canadians, Eskimos, and Indians. As the work spreads, you can add other sub-committees, such as one for Eastern Europe, or the countries under active consideration. In other words, sub-committees might be formed for regional areas of the globe, where their people form a goodly number of inhabitants of Canada. Thus you would now have a Minorities Committee, with sub-committees to specialize in the teaching work of the Eskimos, another sub-committee for the Indians, another for the French Canadians, and another one for the Poles and Ukrainians.