Urged to resign by a good part of the Quebec political class this week, the new special representative for the fight against Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, receives a dose of support. In a letter published Friday, 30 Quebec personalities ask to “give him a chance”.
The week has not been easy for the human rights activist recently appointed by the federal government of Justin Trudeau. Mme Elghawaby, who once stated that “unfortunately, the majority of Quebecers are [guidés] out of anti-Muslim sentiment”, was the target of group fire in both the House of Commons and the National Assembly. According to many, including Prime Minister François Legault and federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, she must resign.
However, in a missive published on Friday, 30 personalities from different backgrounds in Quebec call for the debate to be tempered. “We are sensitive to the concerns that have been raised since his appointment, they write. But the challenge she faces is significant and we believe that Ms. Elghawaby must be given the chance to exercise and fulfill the mandate for which she was appointed. »
Co-signed in particular by the co-founder of the mosque of Quebec Boufeldja Benabdallah, by the former adviser to the commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination of Montreal Alain Babineau and by the lawyer Julius Grey, the text recalls that “Mme Elghawaby ‘sincerely’ apologized this week for ‘the way her words hurt’” Quebecers.
On Tuesday, the federal special adviser made a point of correcting the situation by apologizing after a meeting with the leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet. “I am convinced, I know it, I said it, that Quebec people are not racist”, she had hammered.
This did not convince the Bloc leader, who asked for his departure the next day. Nor in Quebec. “I appreciate her apologies, but I still do not believe that she has the credibility and legitimacy to hold the position,” said the Quebec minister responsible for secularism, Jean-François Roberge.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister François Legault accused his federal counterpart, Justin Trudeau, of endorsing “contempt for Quebecers” by maintaining Mme Elghawaby in place. The federal elected representative persists and signs: according to the latest news, he will not ask him to leave. On Tuesday, he said that the apologies of the federal representative constitute proof that she is “a sensitive person, who is open to the concerns of others in a file that is difficult”.
Mme Elghawaby is due to meet elected officials from Québec solidaire early next week. It is the only party in the National Assembly that has not expressly asked for his resignation so far.