Justice committee  Yes, the letter of the law is discriminatory in and of itself, but we're seeing discriminatory impacts also well beyond the law. To truly understand what the impact of Bill 21 has been on Muslim women in Quebec—

Justice committee  However, you are here to help the Muslim community integrate into Canada. We're talking to you—

Justice committee  Thank you for your question. I would say that the current situation in Gaza and Israel has an impact on the Muslim and Jewish communities here. Although the conflict is not religious, but political, the impact on the communities is really heavy and difficult. In addition, there is a lot of emotion.

Justice committee  It's really important to understand that my role is a domestic role, so the guidance and advice I provide the federal government is on how policies impact Muslims here at home. As everyone can understand, after the shocking events of October 7, we needed time to review and see how it was going to impact our communities. Therefore, when—

Justice committee  You're telling me that this conflict has had a significant impact on Jewish-Muslim relations in Canada. I am not an expert on this issue, but with all due respect, on the very day of the events, we could see that the situation would get worse, both in Canada and elsewhere in the world.

Justice committee  I think you're perfectly capable of answering it. There have been two cases recently of attacks on Canadians just because they were Muslim and identified as such. One was the Quebec City mosque shooting, and the other was the terrorist attack in London, Ontario, three years ago. We marked that anniversary just a couple of days ago.

Justice committee  I know it's not a term that anyone here has created, and it's something that has been accepted by pretty well everybody, but the term “phobia” means to be afraid of something, and then it's to be afraid of Islam and to be afraid of Muslims. That is, in essence, a bit of the problem. Nonetheless, I know it's a topic for another time. Sir, I'm going to give you the time right now to comment on that. Just for further context, I noticed in your opening remarks that you used the term “fear” a couple of times in association with Islam.

Justice committee  I'm not necessarily a wordsmith, but it should be anything other than a word with “Islam” or “Muslim” thrown in. When we say “anti-Semitism”, it's about being a Semite. There are others, including my family, who are Semites as well. Anti-Semitic is a term that doesn't necessarily reference hate toward the Jewish faith, and rightly so.

Justice committee  Joining us an individual is Nadia Hasan, assistant professor, women's and gender studies program, York University. We have, from Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at Canada, Mr. Asif Khan, national secretary, public relations. We also have with us Amira Elghawaby, Canada's special representative on combatting Islamophobia. Welcome. Appearing virtually with us, from the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec, is Boufeldja Benabdallah, co-founder and spokesperson.

Online Harms Act  B'nai Brith Canada reports an alarming 109% increase in anti-Semitic incidents from 2022 to 2023. In the wake of October 7, 2023, I have been hearing frequently from Jewish and Muslim groups, which are openly questioning whether it is safe to be openly Jewish or Muslim in Canada right now. This is not tenable. It should never be tolerated, yet hate-motivated violence keeps happening.

Islamophobia  Instead, because of Islamophobia and hate, she was taken from us. Since this horrific day, we must reflect on whether we are doing enough to combat anti-Muslim hate in our society. We have to commit to doing more every single day. Today, we mourn with many in London, Ontario and beyond who lost a friend, a father, a mother, a sister. We remember this beautiful family.

Justice committee  Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to address the committee today. I'm a Muslim scholar of racism and Islamophobia studies. I am the co-founder and vice-president of the International Islamophobia Studies Research Association, IISRA, which is a global hub for the field of anti-Muslim racism.

Justice committee  Whether we look at Christchurch in New Zealand, Anders Breivik in Norway or Nathaniel Veltman, there's a lot of commonality, in that they rely upon a lot of conspiracy theories that are quite prevalent about Muslims. For example, there's the idea that Muslims are going to be like a Trojan horse or a fifth column and take over the west, and there's this Islamist bogeyman. At the core of a lot of the pursuit of Muslim charities is the idea that they are fronts for Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood.

Justice committee  Over the last eight months, we have seen an exponential increase in Islamophobia and hate crimes towards Muslim communities across the country. We have particularly witnessed visibly Muslim women being exceptionally vulnerable to hateful rhetoric, whether it's online or whether it's in real life.

Justice committee  What I've discovered is that Muslim people embody the values of faith, family and freedom, and of course these are basic Conservative values. Of course, Muslims make significant contributions in a very positive way to our community.