January 26, 2023, Ottawa: The federal government has named human rights advocate Amira Elghawaby as Canada’s first special representative combating Islamophobia, fulfilling a top task from the country’s Muslim community after members of London’s Afzaal family lost their lives in a shocking 2021 attack.
Elghawaby, a contributing columnist at the Toronto Star, leads strategic communications for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, was one of the founding board members of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, and previously worked with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM). She also sits on the National Security Transparency Advisory Group, which advises the deputy minister of public safety on national security policies and practices. “Islamophobia and other xenophobic behaviours, including antisemitism, anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous hate and anti-Asian racism among others, continue to be present in Canadian society, despite the ideals of multiculturalism that I and many others grew up believing in,” Elghawaby said.
She said she hopes her new role framed by the government as the first of its kind in the world will improve Canada’s understanding of “Muslim identities and cultures” while also countering “persistent racism and misrepresentation” facing that community.
The NCCM first called on Ottawa to create the position after four members of a Muslim family were killed in 2021 when the driver of a truck struck them as they were out for an evening walk in London, Ont. Nine-year-old Fayez Afzaal was the only person to survive the attack, which London police said was motivated by hate against the family’s faith.
Government officials raised the demand at a national summit convened to tackle Islamophobia in July 2021. The organization said Thursday that Elghawaby’s office should immediately take on several key priorities, such as conducting a “review of all departments that deal with national security in relation to Islamophobic past and present policies.”
The NCCM would also like to see her office working to “challenge Islamophobia in all parts of the country, including Quebec,” referring to the province’s secularism law that bars people who deliver public services from wearing religious symbols like head coverings.
Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen said Elghawaby would advise Ottawa on all policies that affect Muslim Canadians. Still, they shied away from saying whether Quebec’s law would be included in her mandate. “She will work with other government advisers, she will work with stakeholders, she will engage the public, and we expect her to do that,” Hussen said. Ottawa announced it had started its search for the special representative last June after committing $5.6 million over five years in the 2022 federal budget to fund the position. Hussen said efforts were partly hampered by the 2021 federal election and said he was “glad that we took the time necessary because it was important for me to get this right.”
Fareed Khan, head of the advocacy group Canadians United Against Hate, said he was frustrated by how long it took to fill the role. “This government has a history of saying they’re going to do something and then taking forever to make it happen,” Khan said. “The fact that it took more than a year and a half, I think, doesn’t speak well about the speed at which this government acts on issues of fighting hate.”
Canada already funds a similar role, the special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism, which former justice minister Irwin Cotler has held since 2020. Cotler said appointments like these are “part of a larger struggle for the defence of democracy and human rights.” “We are protecting our common humanity and affirming that common commitment to human dignity. When we have Islamophobia and hate and discrimination against Muslims, that is toxic to democracy,” he said. “I look forward to working closely with Amira on our common cause.”
