Quebec minister calls on new anti-Islamophobia representative to step down over Bill 21 comments
CTV
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Elghawaby to apologize and step down.
Quebec's minister responsible for secularism, Jean-Francois Roberge, has called on Canada’s new special anti-Islamophobia advisor Amira Elghawaby to apologize and step down.
Roberge took issue with Elghawaby's comments on Bill 21 in a 2019 column in the Ottawa Citizen she co-authored with Bernie Farber. The column takes issue with Quebec's secularism law, which prohibits certain public-sector workers from wearing religious symbols at work.
Bill 21, commonly referred to as Quebec's religious symbols ban, invokes the notwithstanding clause to shield it from constitutional challenges. The clause allows provincial legislatures to override certain sections of the charter.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently criticized Quebec's use of the clause in Bill 21 -- legislation which Elghawaby's column called "exactly what the Charter of Rights is supposed to protect us against."
"Unfortunately, the majority of Quebecers appear to be swayed not by the rule of law, but by anti-Muslim sentiment," the article continues, citing a Leger poll offered exclusively to The Montreal Gazette and Le Devoir.
The newspaper reported that the poll found just "28 per cent of people had a positive view of Islam, ... 37 per cent had a positive view of Muslims," and that "among those who have negative feelings about Islam, 88 per cent support a ban on religious symbols for public school teachers."
Elghawaby took to social media on Friday to clarify her comments in The Ottawa Citizen, writing "I don't believe that Quebecers are Islamophobic. My past comments were in reference to a poll on Bill 21. I will work with partners from all provinces and regions to make sure we address racism head-on."
