Canada's new anti-Islamophobia representative apologizes for comments about Quebecers
Canada's new special representative on combating Islamophobia has apologized for words that hurt Quebecers after leaders in that province called for her resignation.
Amira Elghawaby apologized in English before a meeting on Wednesday with Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet.
"As a member of Canada's Muslim community, we know what it's like to be stereotyped. We know what it's like for people to have biases, and I understand the words and the way that I have said them have hurt people in Quebec," Elghawaby said.
"I have been listening very carefully. I have heard you, and I know what you are feeling. And I am sorry."
Following the meeting, Elghawaby said that their conversation was constructive, but they "agree to disagree" when it comes to Quebec's Bill 21.
The law has been heavily criticized — including by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — for discriminating against members of religious minorities by banning them from wearing religious symbols at their public-service workplaces.
"Our (Muslim) communities have expressed the ways that it is impacting them, and that is going to remain my message: this is a discriminatory bill," Elghawaby told reporters.
"That being said, the way that we're going to move forward on these types of different conversations is by being able to listen, and ensuring the ways we talk about these issues aren't hurtful on either side."
She said that moving forward, the dialogue needs to be free from "conflict journalism" and "conflict politics," because those who are caught in the middle are everyday people.
Multiple politicians in Quebec have called for Elghawaby's appointment to be rescinded because of comments she made in a 2019 opinion piece.
The column, co-written with former Canadian Jewish Congress CEO Bernie Farber, cited polling data to say that "a majority of Quebecers" who supported Bill 21 also held anti-Muslim views.
Farber and Elghawaby, a journalist and human-rights activist, were board members with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network at the time.
Trudeau said after the apology on Wednesday that it demonstrated the extent to which she is a sensitive person who is open to others' concerns and wants to "build bridges" in a difficult file.
Quebec Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge said he appreciates Elghawaby's apology but it does not change his government's view.
"I still don't believe she has the credibility, the legitimacy to occupy the role the prime minister has given her," he told reporters in French. "I think that now, the second thing for her to do is to submit her resignation."
Earlier Wednesday, Trudeau said Quebec has a complicated history with religion, citing the oppression of the Catholic Church in the province before the Quiet Revolution largely removed the church from government services including health care and education.
He said it is important to him that all Canadians understand that before the Quiet Revolution, Quebecers "suffered the yoke and the attacks on individual rights and freedoms of an oppressive church."
"And that comes with it a certain perspective around what secularism is, and the role of religion in society that informs what modern Quebec is," he said. "Quebecers are not racists."
There are also Canadians, including in the Muslim community, for whom religion is extremely important in both a public and a private way, he said.
"What we need now is people who can understand and bridge those two realities," said Trudeau.
Elghawaby, he said, is the right person to try and bridge that divide.
"What started with a level of concern about some unfortunate statements is starting to look like a pile on, and we're very aware of where that's coming from," Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller, who represents a Quebec riding, said Wednesday prior to Elghawaby's apology.
"We have to be careful as a nation, as people instrumentalize the fear of the other, particularly those who have not been represented in the public space, like Muslims."
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he wants the focus to turn towards combating Islamophobia and the violence that it leads to.
"Islamophobia is not a problem of any one place. It's a problem for the entire country," Singh said Wednesday. "We need to take this issue very seriously, and protect the members of our Muslim communities."
On Sunday, Canada marked the sixth anniversary of the Quebec City mosque shooting, when six men were killed not long after their evening prayers.
In 2021, a man drove his pickup truck into a Muslim family in London, Ont., killing a family of four and injuring one other.
"We have had other attacks in other parts of the country. We know Islamophobia kills. This is the issue," Elghawaby said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 1, 2023.
With files from Mia Rabson.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.