Discrimination and Islamophobia were the hot items of discussion at a townhall meeting hosted by Cloverdale-Langley City MP John Aldag Thursday night (April 20).
More than 20 people came to the Cloverdale Recreation Centre to participate.
Constituents were given the opportunity to ask Aldag questions and listen to him explain some of the recent decisions made by the federal government.
In his opening presentation, Aldag walked through the 2017 federal budget, Motion M-103, the government’s position on pipelines and the environment, recent legislation for seniors and pension plans, the legalization of marijuana and the modernization of the House of Commons.
In the question period, however, discussion largely centred on M-103, a private member’s motion to condemn and study the effects of systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia, in an effort to reduce or eliminate that discrimination.
The motion passed nearly a month ago, and was adopted by MPs by a margin of 201–91.
Aldag voted in favour of M-103, saying he felt the increase in hate crimes against Canada’s Muslim community made “them deserve some special attention, but not to the exclusion of others.”
“The sense was there is an issue related to the Muslim population specifically, and I felt that it really did warrant this extraordinary measure of having a study done,” he said.
Some constituents said their understanding of M-103 made it seem as though it was to the exclusion of all other religions. Aldag read specific lines from the motion to show this was not the case.
A motion, unlike a passed bill which becomes law, is a non-binding resolution in the House of Commons. M-103 is not the first motion of its kind to be debated in the House. In early 2015, a motion condemning anti-Semitism was adopted unanimously by members of all parties.
In an open letter to his constituents published in February, Aldag wrote that “In the same way that Canadians took a stand against hatred and violence perpetrated upon the Jewish community, M-103 decries similar acts carried out against our country’s Muslim population.”
“(The motion) in no way limits an individual’s right to freedom of speech or alters the Criminal Code of Canada,” he continued. “Just as we must condemn violence in all forms, so too must we extend this condemnation to violence carried out upon Muslim Canadians who are our neighbours, classmates, colleagues and friends.”
Constituent Alice MacKay questioned Aldag heavily on the precedent this could set for MPs looking to institute Shariah law.
“Can you guarantee when they look at the study (coming from the motion) … that there’s no blasphemy laws?” she asked. “Can I say to my neighbour that I’m concerned about what I’m seeing as far as terrorist activity and where it’s coming from.”
Aldag’s response was that a motion is not binding, and that it would not necessarily result in legislation from the federal government.
Zareen Naqvi, a member of the local Muslim community, spoke in support of the motion and commented on MacKay’s concern about Shariah law.
“I think this assumption that this bill will naturally lead to Shariah law being imposed — as a Muslim I would be totally opposed to it,” Naqvi said.
“I have felt the persecution of those laws in other countries, and have decided to come to Canada … Just moving on and assuming that we will become a Shariah state — it’s not going to happen.”
Fleetwood-Port Kells MP Ken Hardie, who was also at the town hall, provided additional explanation for why the motion could not create Shariah law in Canada.
“This is where our Charter of Rights and Freedoms comes in,” he said.
“Even today, on another issue all together, (the Charter) struck down legislation that clearly operated against freedoms that Canadians enjoy. So your safety valve is always the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
All constituents who spoke at the town hall about M-103 agreed that Islamophobia may not be the best term to use when speaking about discrimination against people of Islamic faith.
One constituent suggested Aldag, as the representative for the people of Cloverdale and Langley City, should make a clear distinction between hostility towards Muslims and criticism of the Islamic faith.
In addition to the discussion on M-103, the town hall also included a lengthy discussion on the legalization of marijuana, as well as talks on electoral reform, the definition of middle class, pipeline projects and the relationship between the U.S.A. and Canada.
