(Ottawa) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has invited the new special representative for the fight against Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, to clarify her remarks about Quebecers. He added in the same breath that she had important work to do.
“Obviously I don’t agree with her words and I expect her to clarify,” Trudeau said Friday afternoon. The reality is that she has an important job to do and to build bridges and to fight against Islamophobia wherever it exists in the country. »
He did not answer the question of a journalist who asked him if Mme Elghawaby could really build bridges between communities.
His appointment announced the day before raises controversy. This decision does not pass with Quebec, which demands an apology from Mr.me Elghawaby. This journalist and human rights activist once wrote that the “majority of Quebecers” seemed “influenced by anti-Muslim sentiment” in a column published in 2019 in the ottawa citizenshortly after the adoption of the secularism law of State. The article was co-authored by Bernie Farber, president of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network and former director of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
In an interview at The PressMme Elghawaby argued that his column was misunderstood. “I want to be very clear. I do not believe that the vast majority of Quebecers are Islamophobic,” she defended herself.
She then explained that she relied on a Léger poll conducted in May 2019 for the Association for Canadian Studies, according to which 88% of Quebecers who had a negative perception of Islam supported this law from the Legault government.
The State Secularism Act, also known as Law 21, was adopted under a gag order in June 2019 by Quebec. By adopting it, the CAQ government used the notwithstanding clause to prevent legal challenges based on certain sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This law is still being challenged in court.
Further details will follow.