The motion was tabled by Mississauga-Erin Mills Liberal MP Iqra Khalid on Dec. 5, 2016. She spoke to reporters after the motion passed Thursday. All NDP and nearly all Liberal MPs supported the motion, which passed 201-91. The majority of Conservative MPs voted against, with leadership candidate Michael Chong and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton voting in favour. Mississauga Liberal MP Gagan Sikand and Barrie Conservative MP Alex Nuttall both abstained.
OTTAWA – The House of Commons passed M-103, a non-binding motion condemning Islamophobia and religious discrimination, amidst protests and violent confrontations outside parliament and in Quebec.
All NDP and nearly all Liberal MPs supported the motion, which passed 201-91. The majority of Conservative MPs voted against, with leadership candidate Michael Chong and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton voting in favour. Mississauga Liberal MP Gagan Sikand and Barrie Conservative MP Alex Nuttall both abstained.
The vote follows months of bitter debate and a series of protests and counter-protests across the country over whether the private member’s motion would limit free speech or single out Islam for special treatment in Canadian law, reported CBC.
It had additional symbolic significance in the emotional aftermath of the Jan. 29 mosque shooting in Quebec City, where six Muslim men were killed.
The motion was tabled by Mississauga-Erin Mills Liberal MP Iqra Khalid on Dec. 5, 2016. She spoke to reporters after the motion passed Thursday.
“I’m really happy that the vote today has shown positive support for this motion and I’m really looking forward to the committee taking on this study,” she said.
Khalid’s motion calls on the government to do three things:
Condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.
Quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear.
Compel the Commons heritage committee to develop a government-wide approach for reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia.
The latter would require the heritage committee to collect data on hate crime reports, conduct needs assessments for affected communities and present findings within eight months.
Liberals rejected an attempt by Saskatchewan Conservative MP David Anderson to remove the word “Islamophobia” from the motion and change the wording to “condemn all forms of systemic racism, religious intolerance and discrimination of Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and other religious communities.
