MP Zahid, thank you for your incredible leadership. In your capacity as chair of the citizenship and immigration committee, in your capacity as a parliamentarian and as a community leader, it has been inspiring watching you overcome challenge after challenge and still rise.
I thank you for that because you are a role model for so many right now who are afraid to put on the hijab. What I say to them and to the moms who are afraid to let their hijabi daughters go outside for a walk because they're afraid for their safety is that we can't let the terrorists win. They want us to be afraid of who we are. They want us to not be who we are. They want to prevent our progress and contribution to Canada. We can't let that happen.
I also acknowledge that all of us across parties have Muslim staffers. There are more Muslim staff working on Parliament Hill, albeit virtually now, than ever before. I'm sure everybody has taken the time to check in on them, because they're carrying a lot of this. They're behind the scenes, in the backrooms, but they're carrying a lot of the grief and the trauma that has come towards Muslims, particularly over the last month, since Eid.
My colleague is a really good example of how communities can be mobilized to do the right thing, to pull down those walls of hate. If she continues to work with my team and me, we'll make sure that we build up the community capacity to respond to this hate.
I also want to take this opportunity to speak to hijabi Muslims in Alberta who are experiencing violent incident after another in public spaces simply because they choose to worship as they do and they are proud to be who they are out in the streets and in public spaces.
The hate that you are experiencing is not okay. Our government stands with you and condemns all forms of Islamophobia and hate. There is no place for that hate in Canada, but we are reckoning with some disturbing realities about our wonderful country. We have an opportunity through the budget to continue to invest in the anti-racism secretariat, to continue to invest in community-based programming.
Salma Zahid, my goodness, I'm sorry that you feel afraid to go outside into the streets, and to just take that afternoon or evening stroll. So many of us have left countries and have come to this place so that we could be free to worship as we do, and that persecution that we continue to feel is not okay.
Madam Chair, this is probably the heaviest conversation I've had at this committee in the 12 times I've appeared before you. That's really saying a lot, because it has been an interesting experience every time.
MP Zahid, thanks again for your leadership. I appreciate you and I continue to draw inspiration from you.