Thank you.
You touched on this in your opening remarks, but I noticed that on June 6 this year, Stephen Brown, the CEO of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said the following in his testimony before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights:
In the last few months, there has been a drastic rise in Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism across Canada. In Q4 of last year, the number of such hate incidents across Canada reported to us increased by 1,300%.
Our communities are experiencing unprecedented levels of hate and violence from every level of society, including but not limited to professionals losing their employment or receiving disciplinary actions after calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, Muslim women with hijabs attacked and harassed in public spaces, children intimidated at school by staff for standing in solidarity for Palestinian human rights, and peaceful protesters labelled as supporters of terrorism.
In your view, what specific measures should the federal government implement to address this rise in Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism to protect affected communities and ensure their safety and rights in Canada?