Government Appointments  Will the Prime Minister back down and get rid of the position of special representative to combat Islamophobia?

Government Appointments  Speaker, I am very proud to be a member of the Liberal Party of Canada's Quebec caucus, and I can say that we are here to have difficult conversations with one another, with our colleagues and with Canadians. I know that the issue of Islamophobia is a sensitive topic all across the country. It exists everywhere, not just in Quebec. That is why we are here to dialogue with our colleagues, to talk about how we can create more harmony across the country and continue to be there for each other.

Government Appointments  On this side of the House, we know that we made the right choice in appointing Amira Elghawaby as special representative on combatting Islamophobia, and we support her in the important work she has ahead of her in the months and years to come.

Diversity and Inclusion  There are always difficult and important conversations that need to happen, and I think people understand that rhetoric and exaggeration on either side do not help. That is why we appointed a special representative on combatting Islamophobia, who I know will lead these conversations so that we can build bridges the right way.

Freedom of Religion  Speaker, the recent hate crime on Gauri Shankar Hindu Mandir in Brampton is just one of the many attacks in recent times against Hindu temples in Canada by anti-Hindu and anti-India groups. As with Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, resulting in hate crimes against our mosques and synagogues and causing pain to our Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters, Hindu Canadians are experiencing the same pain due to rising Hinduphobia.

Freedom of Religion  I am asking every member of the House and every citizen to remember the solidarity that we saw six years ago as we collectively try to combat islamophobia today.

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Act  Speaker, as I rise today, one day after the sixth anniversary of the terrorist attack at the Quebec City mosque, I just want to acknowledge the loss that occurred on that day six years ago, the other five lives that have been taken by Islamophobic attacks in this country and the work that we all need to do as parliamentarians and as Canadians to fight against hatred and intolerance, in particular Islamophobia. I rise today to participate in today's debate, not just because it is the first day of the session, not just because I am glad to be back in the chamber and glad to be back surrounded by parliamentarians seeking to advance the interests of our country and of our individual ridings, but because it actually reminded me of a conversation I had in 2019.

Government Appointments  Speaker, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Prime Minister's right-hand man in Quebec, had a strong reaction to the appointment of Amira Elghawaby, the federal representative to combat Islamophobia, who once made disparaging comments about the Quebec nation. He said, “As a Quebecker, I am deeply hurt by these comments, I am deeply insulted”. Given that he is hurt and insulted, will his words be backed up with action?

Government Appointments  Speaker, yesterday evening, I was honoured to be at the Quebec City mosque with the community that was the target of a dreadful terrorist attack committed six years ago by a person motivated by hate, intolerance and ignorance regarding the Muslim community in Quebec and across the country. We must all stand up every single day to recognize and fight Islamophobia. We must see it as our duty to be there for our fellow Muslim citizens, and we will always be there for them.

Government Appointments  It would be a great conversation. I think Ms. Elghawaby would be able to explain how systemic racism and Islamophobia are a reality for people across the country. We all have a duty to listen to one another and understand how hurtful bills and words can be, even if that is not our intention. We have a duty to understand the impact of what we are doing on vulnerable communities in our country.

Freedom of Religion  Dangerous weapons that are used only to kill other human beings are still in circulation. Online hate, racism and Islamophobia still exist. Extreme right-wing rhetoric has become normalized, which only fuels this radicalization and hatred targeting minorities. The killer fed on such rhetoric, which pushed him to attack.

Online News Act  What has been worrisome about this is that at the same time we have seen a parallel rise, because big tech has not taken any sort of responsibility for the rise in hate, misogyny, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia. These two trends are connected. On the one hand, there is pressure on local community media that brings us together in the community and ensures that people understand that even if their neighbours are different, they all share the same values and goals in the community.

Canadian Heritage committee  We've seen a disturbing rise in hate, a disturbing rise in racism and misogyny, a disturbing rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, and a disturbing rise in homophobia and transphobia. This is something we have to take action on. Journalism plays a key role in that. We've already talked about Bill C-18 playing a role in encouraging local journalism in a way that counters that hate and disinformation.

Canadian Heritage committee  Singer, to your comments about community news, because you are absolutely right to identify that one of the reasons why we're seeing the rise in hate in all of its toxic forms—more anti-Semitism, more racism, more homophobia and transphobia, more Islamophobia, more misogyny—is in part that those links that community journalists play, that community newspapers play, are being exploded as big tech tries to profit from hate. As you know, in the United States, a major campaign that involves a whole range of organizations fighting back against hate is Stop Hate for Profit.

Status of Women committee  What I've said is that it's about choice, about a woman's choice—what they want to wear and what they don't want to wear—and about taking the ability to choose. I ask that because I feel there is growing Islamophobia in the country. I certainly worry about the many women and young women in my riding who have experienced in Manitoba increased levels of Islamophobia. Would you say that these kinds of debates about taking away a woman's right to choose what to put on her body and even reproductive rights, with the whole debate we're having about Roe v.