Business of Supply  There is a need to state the obvious: Canada is seeing a trend toward the stigmatization of Quebeckers and Canadians of the Muslim faith. Obviously, we can no longer deny this reality. Islamophobia is indeed present in our society. We can no longer talk about radicalization as though it were a religious phenomenon. We now need to talk about extreme-right radicalization here in Canada.

Business of Supply  Speaker, I would like to ask the minister a bit more about the social media campaign of misinformation, fearmongering and abuse we have seen in the wake of the tabling of Motion No. 103, and even in the discussion about today's motion. How does that influence the necessity of addressing Islamophobia and specifically of calling it out by that very name?

Business of Supply  Since even yesterday, when I announced we would be supporting Motion No. 103, my entire team in charge of social media has been dealing with online abuse against me because of the very issue of Islamophobia. We know this is happening and we know we cannot tolerate it, so let us act on it. Let us ensure we denounce it and really work together to support 103, which will study the issue, come back with recommendations, and ultimately we can do a good government program to address this issue.

Business of Supply  One might argue that President Donald Trump is perhaps one of the biggest promoters of Islamophobia right now, with the immigration ban that he tried to bring forward. The member said that we have an obligation to denounce hate and discrimination. Does she agree that the Prime Minister also needs to stand up and denounce the hate and discrimination in Trump's discriminatory and racist ban?

Business of Supply  Speaker, we are talking about a debate happening in the House of Commons of Canada. We denounce any form of systemic racism and also Islamophobia in Canada. As the Prime Minister has said, he is not there to lecture other countries. I am proud to see that my colleague is supporting our work and our Motion No. 103.

Business of Supply  It is regrettable that only two weeks after the mosque attack the Conservatives are doing everything they can to avoid the word “Islamophobia”. I know the hon. member condemned the mosque attack, but has he had some time to reflect? He is a prolific guest on radio talk shows in Quebec. Has he reflected on the words that he has been using over the last few years?

Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination  Motion No. 103 asks the government to undertake a study looking at ways of reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia. The key points of the motion are to tackle systemic racism and religious discrimination. Let us start with systemic racism. Systemic racism exists whenever the system itself is designed or came about to inherently discriminate against one people.

Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination  Let us do that work together. I hope to see everyone stand in this place, stand up against Islamophobia and support the motion.

Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination  They wanted to ensure they were connected to my organization and were getting the support they needed. It is also very important that we look at the reality that Islamophobia is a growing discrimination in our country today, and we need to address it. How does the member think the study will impact the Muslim community, and how does she envision the study assisting the broader issues of systemic racism and religious discrimination?

Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination  Speaker, it is so important to engage in conversations to recognize a problem and to tackle that problem. Through this motion, I think by recognizing Islamophobia and then a call to action would really help Canadians come together. It would create a dialogue among our policy-makers, our civil society, our grassroots organizations, and Canadians at large, because the more we get to know each other, the more we realize that we are more the same than we are different.

Public Safety committee  Okay. I'd be interested in seeing some of that. The media have created this word “Islamophobia”, and nobody really knows what it means. If I were to come out and criticize radical Islam, meaning the terrorist component and the bad part of it, would I be considered Islamophobic because of that, in your view?

Public Safety committee  The narrative about it is harming the Muslim community, first by leading to an increase in Islamophobia and then by having a negative impact on freedom of speech. No religion condones the killing of innocent civilians. Canadian Muslims are committed to Canada's national security. We just do not want it to be at our expense.

Public Safety committee  In the move from “will” to “may”, we enter the realm of interpretation. In an environment of increasing Islamophobia, the “may” space becomes a space of problematizing and criminalizing Muslim faith communities for their everyday practices. Growing a beard or putting on a head scarf becomes a potential security threat rather than a spiritual expression.

Public Safety committee  The first is how the narrative around terrorism leads to a rise in fear of Muslims. The second is about the impact on freedom of speech. On Islamophobia, since 9/11 there has been a sharp rise in hate crimes against Muslims in Canada. As the “war on terror” centralized Muslims as the primary source of terrorism, Muslim communities—everyday average individuals who are at home or going to work, school, the grocery store, or the community centre—came under scrutiny.

Public Safety committee  One of the points that the folks working there raised was about the rise in all forms of radicalization, including for young people becoming neo-Nazis. In the tragic circumstances in Quebec, we saw an attack that was fed by Islamophobia, but it could very well have been an attack fed by anti-Semitism as well, obviously. The numbers don't lie, unfortunately, about what the community faces. I'm wondering what your thoughts are on this.