Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Brampton North.
It is a great honour to rise again in the House to discuss the Conservative motion put before us today.
As the member of Parliament for Willowdale, I am fortunate enough to represent one of Canada's most richly diverse ridings. Willowdale is home to Muslims and Jews, Christians and Atheists, Sikhs and Hindus, and in many ways it represents a beautiful microcosm of Canada. It stands as a proud testament to the success of Canadian pluralism.
Canadians have placed a great deal of trust in all of us. They expect us to focus on emerging challenges and demonstrate clarity of purpose and advocate on behalf of the issues that matter most. They expect us to be vigilant in protecting our core values and never forget that we are all tasked to make an even more perfect union. They expect us, in other words, not to succumb to cynical political manoeuvring, not to grandstand when many real issues are at stake.
For that very reason, I am very much opposed to the Conservative opposition motion, which I will be voting against. Instead, I am proud to stand staunchly with my caucus in support of the original Motion No. 103.
I afraid that today's motion abdicates the sacred responsibility we all share to take a firm stand against the very real threat of Islamophobia. The Conservatives' motion represents a cynical attempt to distract us from their own aversion to demonstrate leadership on this significant issue.
This debate, of course, takes place under unique circumstances. Not only are we debating the motion in light of the more appropriate motion put forward by my colleague from Mississauga—Erin Mills, but also in the tragic aftermath of last month's shooting in Quebec City and a growing and unmistakable atmosphere, both in Canada and globally, of increased bigotry and closed-mindedness.
Since coming to power 16 months ago, our government has constantly and proudly advocated for Canadian diversity, tolerance, and multiculturalism. We must remember, however, that these values which we hold dear did not simply come into being. They were the direct result and the forceful articulation of a uniquely Canadian approach to nation-building. Similarly, we cannot take these ideals for granted. It is important we always remain vigilant in defending these core values and in condemning any attempt to weaken or discredit them.
When any community in Canada is made to feel unsafe or unduly and unfairly persecuted, made in other words to feel un-Canadian, this represents an attack on all of us. It is times like these that we have no greater responsibility than to stand in solidarity against hate, against racism, and against discrimination.
The esteemed House of Commons has done so in the past in denouncing anti-Semitism and homophobia, and all other forms of discrimination. Doing so again now will not only demonstrate much needed leadership for members of our Muslim community, but with Canadians of all faiths who wish to live in a peaceful and modern society where freedom of religion is truly allowed to flourish.
The motion before us today is, in its very essence, a watered-down version of a similar motion put forth earlier this week by the Liberal caucus. The Liberal motion, in turn, was the logical extension of a petition and motion tabled this past fall, which condemned all forms of Islamophobia.
It is worth remembering, despite the opposition's attempts to distance itself from this fact, that the motion was unanimously approved at the time by all parties. It is worth asking, therefore, what has changed since then? Why is the opposition now opposed to a worthy ideal it once supported? The answer, as it all too often does, lies with crude political calculations and blatant partisanship. Rather than standing up to hate and in defence of tolerance and diversity, the Conservative Party has decided that condemning religious bigotry does not pass its internal values test. This stance, aided and abetted by an orchestrated campaign of misinformation, innuendo, and alternative facts, may be politically expedient in some circles but it is wrong.
By playing politics with an important motion, by deliberately diluting its most important elements, by glossing over the very real threat of Islamophobia, by refusing to call out racism and bigotry for what they are, the motion before us today does us all a great disservice. This is rank political posturing at its most cynical and counterproductive.
The events of January 29 at the Islamic cultural centre of Quebec City will forever stand as an incredibly dark chapter in our nation's history. The victims of that cowardly attack are not abstractions. They were brothers and sons, fathers and husbands. They were grocery store owners and professors, pharmacists and civil servants. They were all Muslims, shot in the back while praying in a place of worship.
Events such as these do not simply happen; they are the direct result of fear, hatred, and discrimination. They are symptoms of a much larger epidemic.
Islamophobia, whether we care to admit it or not, is very real. Denouncing Islamophobia for what it is, an affront to Canadian values, does not threaten equality, but reinforces it. Admitting that a problem exists does not confer special status on any particular or specific group. Rather, it ensures that all Canadians receive equal access to and equal protection of an essential right.
When the federal government committed $300 million to the victims of the Fort McMurray wildfires, we were not prioritizing one region of the country over the other. We were standing in solidarity with our fellow Canadians. When our government introduced a plan to combat the growing opioid crisis, we were not diminishing other very real public health needs. We were proposing a concrete solution to an obvious problem. The motion introduced by the Liberal Party earlier this week provided clear language and forceful leadership on an issue of vital national importance.
The Conservative motion before us today weakens and waters down Motion No. 103 to the point of irrelevance. The Conservative motion, pardon my language, represents parliamentary malarkey. For that reason, I am proud that my caucus, rather than simply curse the darkness represented by the Conservative motion, has chosen to light a candle and combat Islamophobia head on.