Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 23rd, 2017

[Haseen Khan, Executive Committee Member and Treasurer, Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador]

I think the campaign of misinformation is a very dangerous thing, because it creates confusion, dislike, and hate in the minds of innocent and neutral people. As Dr. Pirzada mentioned in his speech, when CBC's Here and Now released a documentary on Islam 101, we received a lot of feedback: “Thank you very much. Now I see the true picture of Islam. I have changed my opinion and my misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.” Yes, misinformation campaigns do a great disservice to Muslims and Islam.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Thank you.

I think we have under two minutes to go, so I'm going to again begin with the Manitoba Muslim Association and then the Newfoundland one.

What is the most important thing that we as leaders and the federal government can do to address the increased levels of hate, misinformation, and fear?

[Dr. Idris Elbakri]

I think it's very important to be able to deeply study these phenomena, track them, and record data. One of the challenges we have is the lack of data so that we can understand the extent of this problem and this issue.

The second thing is that communities at the grassroots level are already doing a lot. Whether they're Muslim or of some other affiliation, there's a lot of work already being done on the ground to help Canadians get to know each other better. The government can empower these communities through funding and through programs that would encourage schools, law enforcement, and social services to all partner with communities to try to create programs to facilitate Canadians in better understanding each other.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Thank you very much.

I'll go on to the Newfoundland Muslim Association.

[Dr. Ayse Akinturk, Executive Committee Member, Muslim Association of Newfoundland and Labrador]

Thank you very much.

Going back to the recommendations that Mr. Pirzada mentioned in his speech, I would like to emphasize four important points.

First of all, we need qualitative and quantitative data to find out what kinds of problems we are dealing with, and there are barriers that prevent the collection of such data. For instance, people don't know their rights, and they need to be educated. Sometimes they feel shy or they fear reporting the incidents. Reporting should be facilitated and encouraged, and also service providers who are dealing with such complaints should be properly educated constantly so that they know how to deal with them.

I remember the testimony of another witness. In her childhood, she experienced with her family some Islamophobic incidents, and they decided to report them, but the police forces said it was just a funny prank, so they should just take it easy and let it go.

There are so many things that should be done on many fronts, especially education and professional training of service providers in various sectors, such as the media, the school education system, health services, social work, and law enforcement.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much, Ms. Akinturk. I'm sorry. We've finished the seven minutes.

Now we're going to go to Scott Reid for seven minutes, for the Conservatives.

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

Thank you.

Seeing as you were in the middle of reviewing the points, do you want to finish that up?

[Dr. Ayse Akinturk]

Okay. You can ask your question.

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

No, the chair stopped you because you ran out of time, but if you could finish up your points, it would be helpful.

[Dr. Ayse Akinturk]

I think awareness and education programs are so essential that they shouldn't be left to the discretion of individual institutions. They should be made a regular, consistent, and mandatory component of the school curriculum and of the annual training of professionals working in these different sectors. Also, we need to develop programs to support victims of Islamophobia and protect vulnerable ones who have yet to experience it.

The most important thing with these programs is that all of them have to be developed in consultation, in conversation with the grassroots organizations, because they are the representatives on the ground of potential and actual victims.

The most important thing is that we need to introduce and implement appropriate tools that will promote equity and inclusion and eliminate racial and religious barriers to employment. In that context, we know that they have a gender-based equity lens, so why not introduce an equity lens considering racial and religious minorities, the vulnerable sectors, in our budget preparations?

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

Thank you.

This is for our Newfoundland witnesses again. I want to start with Mr. Pirzada and ask this question.

First of all, I want to thank you for being so positive and upbeat about Canada. I think this is the greatest country in the world, and I have had the chance to live in its two most obvious rivals, Australia and the United States. I think we are the greatest, and we get into the bad habit as Canadians of beating ourselves up over our country because it's not perfect. It isn't, but it's a pretty great place, so thank you for saying that.

In Newfoundland, I'm assuming the Muslim minority is fairly small.

[Dr. Mansoor Pirzada]

Yes.

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

I was going to ask the number.

[Dr. Mansoor Pirzada]

There are roughly 2,000 people, and that includes Muslim students from different parts of the world. Recently, with the influx of Syrian refugees and the families, another 200 or so have been added.

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

Am I right that Newfoundland's experience is bit different from that of the rest of the country? I'm assuming that the Muslim community there is typically better educated than the population as a whole, because people have typically come in to get professional credentials. For some Newfoundlanders, the only Muslim they'll know is the doctor who delivered their baby. Is that a reasonable characterization?

[Dr. Mansoor Pirzada]

That was the perception, and I think it was to some extent correct, but that has changed. Many new Syrian refugees are still struggling—once their first year is over, all the grants and everything dry up, so they are struggling. They are probably not educated as much as the other people, but they do have a lot of skills. There are technicians, mechanics, and—

[Dr. Ayse Akinturk]

Carpenters.

[Dr. Mansoor Pirzada]

—carpenters, and they are opening their shops. There are some barbershops. People are realizing that these people who came have established themselves in a short time.

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

The unemployment issue has come up twice in today's testimony. Is that looking like it's going to be a problem for the recent Syrian immigrants?

[Dr. Mansoor Pirzada]

It is going to be a problem, definitely. I'm telling you about the Newfoundland experience. I think this is a positive experience, generally. Over the last few decades, we have taken steps to gain the trust of RCMP, the RNC, the clergy, and the political leaders. We now feel just like one family. I think that experience has to be propagated.

We know that Newfoundland most of the time is not taken seriously. I have experienced this attitude on the mainland. People think I am not a Newfoundlander, so they tell their stories about Newfoundland. That's a different thing. Indeed, I think the Newfoundland experience can be an ideal role model and that we can be of great help to the committee.

[Dr. Ayse Akinturk]

If you don't mind, I would like to add to the comments made by Dr. Pirzada. Unemployment is a big issue in Newfoundland. I know this from my own experience and from the experiences of my close friends. Many of them are very qualified professionals with multiple degrees, graduate degrees, double doctorates, and fluency in both official languages of Canada, and they still can't find employment. They either find themselves looking after their own families, which is an injustice to all these years of education, or moving to other provinces. Unemployment is a great problem in Newfoundland, not only generally for Newfoundlanders but particularly for the Muslim community living there.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Mr. Reid, I wonder if I could ask the Manitobans to weigh in on your question.

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

Yes, that's a good idea.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Please throw your two bits' worth in and see if Manitoba is a better province than Newfoundland.

[Dr. Idris Elbakri]

I think they're both great provinces, and so are the rest of the provinces and territories. Generally speaking, Canadians—and I've lived in the U.S. and Canada—have this ethic of “live and let live”, which is a wonderful way to conduct our lives. I think we are culturally influenced by our neighbours to the south, however, and some of the rhetoric there has spilled over. We see that mostly online, but we're concerned about attempts to claim the public space as well by those who would skew these messages. I think there is still reason for concern. We cannot be complacent. We have to work hard to encourage our communities to deal with these sorts of challenges.