(Québec) Québec solidaire (QS) adds its voice to the other political parties in the National Assembly who believe that Amira Elghawaby, the new federal representative for the fight against Islamophobia, is not the right person to occupy this position .
The parliamentary leader of QS, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, made the announcement Tuesday during a press scrum in Parliament. Since the start of the controversy, he refused to demand the resignation of Mme Elghawaby, saying he wanted to meet with her first to get an explanation for her controversial statements. It finally appeared that this meeting would not be held before his official entry into office.
“Despite this outstretched hand, Mr.me Elghawaby informed us [lundi] that she was not going to meet with us before February 20, the date of her official entry into office. However, this meeting was precisely intended to determine whether she was, in our opinion, the right person to occupy this position. We regret this situation: we cannot dialogue alone,” QS said in a statement.
For Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Manon Massé, “Justin Trudeau’s strategy is a failure. The controversy he has created in recent days has only divided Quebec. In this context, Québec solidaire has come to the conclusion that Ms.me Elghawaby is not the right person to lead the fight against Islamophobia in Quebec”.
Mme Elghawaby has written in the past in the ottawa citizen that the “majority of Quebecers” seemed “influenced by anti-Muslim sentiment”. His column took aim at Law 21 on state secularism, which prohibits the wearing of religious symbols by state employees in positions of authority, including teachers. It is being challenged in court.
Last week, QS was the only party in the Blue Room to abstain from voting in favor of a motion calling for his resignation. Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, who condemned the remarks made by Mr.me Elghawaby, wanted to meet her first.
QS will in turn file this Tuesday at the Blue Room a motion to demand initiatives from the Legault government in the fight against Islamophobia.