Ottawa’s new anti-Islamophobia advisor is facing backlash. Here’s what to know

In 2019, Amira Elghawaby criticized Quebec's Bill 21, which bans certain government employees, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols on the job.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he is standing behind Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s first special representative on combating Islamophobia, as officials in the Quebec government continue to call for her resignation.

Elghawaby, who was appointed last Thursday, has faced criticism since her appointment was announced over an opinion piece she co-wrote in 2019. In the piece, Elghawaby criticized Quebec’s Bill 21, which bans certain public-facing employees, including teachers and police officers, from wearing religious symbols on the job.

While the Quebec government says the law is intended to defend secularism — the province’s official policy of separating religion and state — critics like the National Council of Canadian Muslims have called it discriminatory and a law that “causes second-class citizenship.”

Federal cabinet ministers have faced repeated questions about the concerns from Quebec over the past two days and walking into his cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trudeau said he supports Elghawaby “100 per cent.”

“She has demonstrated, throughout her years of work, an … openness and a rigor that we need right now,” he said, speaking in French.

“I understand that dealing with Islamophobia will require important and sometimes difficult conversations, but we need someone who is knowledgeable, who is deeply grounded, and I know she’s the right person.”

She and co-writer Bernie Farber, former CEO of the Canadian Jewish Congress, had said in the 2019 op-ed that “the majority of Quebecers appear to be swayed not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment. A poll conducted by Léger Marketing earlier this year found that 88 per cent of Quebecers who held negative views of Islam supported (Bill 21).”

In a tweet, Elghawaby clarified late last week that she does not believe Quebecers are Islamophobic. However, for officials in the Quebec government, her response has fallen short.