QUESTION PERIOD — Public Safety
Anti-Muslim Extremism
June 15, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the government leader in the Senate.
Senator Gold, last week’s horrific accident shook Canadians to their cores. The streets in major cities all over Canada saw vigils and marches demanding an end to hate, racism and Islamophobia. Can you please outline for me the concrete steps your government will take to combat Islamophobia and make Muslim Canadians feel safe again?
The Government of Canada deplores not only the tragic incident to which you refer but the rise of hate-motivated crimes against members of the Muslim community, and other communities, who for far too long have been the victim of intolerant and hate-motivated behaviour.
The government is working with leaders in the Muslim communities to support them in their efforts. It is also working with provinces, who in turn are working with municipalities and not-for-profit organizations. This is not simply a whole-of-government challenge but a whole-of-society challenge in which the government is committed to playing its part.
Senator Gold, in 2018, the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage report on systemic racism, religious discrimination and Islamophobia contained almost no recommendations on combatting Islamophobia. Three years later, while Islamophobic sentiment has continued to increase, even those few recommendations have not been implemented. I know there is talk of holding a conference on Islamophobia, maybe in July. Some Muslims have communicated to me their fear and their frustration regarding the lack of actions taken by this government. How will this conference be any different? How are you going to commit to protecting Muslims in their communities and their places of worship?
This is what Muslims are asking me. What will the government do, since the Liberals claim to be such strong friends of Muslims? So far we have not seen them do anything for the Muslims. Can you please answer my question?
I will do my best to answer your question, Senator Ataullahjan. I don’t have the details of the conference. I’m hoping, as we all hope, that the conference will bear fruit and be a positive step in improving situations for the communities here in Canada.
The federal government has a role to play but so, too, do other levels of government and civil society. The legal framework in Canada, and indeed in the provinces — governing hateful behaviour, actions and words, as well as the use of prosecutorial discretion at the provincial level, human rights tribunals at the provincial level and so on — are all parts of the solution to this important and multifaceted problem.
