Canadian Heritage Committee on Sept. 27th, 2017

[Raheel Raza]

We've provided training on the diversity of the Muslim communities, a better understanding of the culture, of the ethnicity, and of how to deal with them when it comes to issues of law enforcement.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

Did the training make a difference to the problem?

[Raheel Raza]

Absolutely it did. They would like us to do more. We are just stretched too thin.

[Anju Dhillon, Liberal, Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle, QC]

You're stretched too thin. Thank you so much.

That's it for me.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thanks, Anju.

Now we go to Scott Reid for the Conservatives for five minutes.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

I want to ask this question regarding the motion, M-103, as it's written, and whether this is a fundamental structural problem with the motion.

I won't read the whole thing, but the motion talks about “the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear”. That's a direct quote from one part of it. Elsewhere it talks about developing “a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination”.

It appears to me that two things are conflated. One is the random or individual acts of hatred, of racism, including the murderous racism and hatred we saw acted out in January in Quebec City. On the other hand, systemic racism, or institutional racism, is a concept that deals with things such as the differential treatment of, say, aboriginal prisoners in our penal system. They are, I would submit, two utterly different things, but they are conflated here, I think very unnaturally.

I'm giving you an editorial. Do you agree that this is a problem with this motion?

[Raheel Raza]

I do believe that this is a problem. It gives the impression that Canadians are inherently extremely racist people and, as far as the usage of the term “Islamophobia”, that Muslims are being stoned in the streets of Toronto and there is systemic racism.

Racism exists—I have said that from the very beginning—in varying forms and at various levels. We have to deal with that directly. To position Canada as a country that is inherently systemically racist, that's not my experience or my belief. My family and I have been here, as I've said, for 30 years. I think that's over-exaggerating it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Reid, I am sorry.

The lights are going. The bells are going. We have votes. We will have to end this.

I'm sorry.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

May I just take a moment to say thank you?

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Go right ahead.

[Scott Reid, Conservative, Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston, ON]

I just wanted to say thank you very much. Your testimony was very interesting.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Ms. Raza.

I think we have to go because we have a vote. We've been called. There's a light behind you that's flashing.

[Raheel Raza]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

The meeting is adjourned.