The new special representative of Canada in charge of the fight against Islamophobia Amira Elghawaby must resign, claimed Tuesday the Parti québécois.
“She says that Quebec is Islamophobic,” said PQ MP Pascal Bérubé during a press briefing at the National Assembly. “It is obvious that this is heresy. »
According to him, this nomination is an argument in favor of the independence of Quebec. “Let us leave this country. It is an additional demonstration that this country is not ours and that they make choices which are theirs, according to their values. »
In an op-ed co-authored with Bernie Farber in 2019, Ms. Elghawaby wrote that “the majority of Quebecers seem driven not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment.” She qualified her remarks last Friday on Twitter. “I don’t think Quebecers are Islamophobic; my past comments referred to a poll about Bill 21,” she tweeted.
On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he fully supported Amira Elghawaby. “She has demonstrated throughout her years of work a sensitivity, openness and rigor that we need now. »
The minister responsible for secularism, Jean-François Roberge, nevertheless demanded on Monday the resignation of the new special representative of Canada in charge of the fight against Islamophobia. “And if she doesn’t, the government must remove her without delay,” he said in a written statement.
For his part, the interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ) Marc Tanguay demanded a “clear and frank” apology from Amira Elghawaby. “It is for us a condition sine qua non, he said in a press briefing on Tuesday. If she doesn’t, she can’t stay in office very clearly. »
Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said his party would like to meet Ms. Elghawaby to ask her questions. “Asking for resignations all the time is not my style,” he argued.
With Marie Vastel and Jean-Louis Bordeleau
Further details will follow.