M-103 debate sparks protests in Ottawa
MPs to vote on motion Thursday
OTTAWA • More than two dozen police officers had to separate duelling mobs on Parliament Hill Tuesday after the two groups spent their lunch hour hurling loud and often profane epithets at each other in support of or in opposition to an anti-Islamophobia motion that was debated in the House of Commons.
A handful of men in each group nearly came to blows but for the clutch of RCMP officers standing between them.
One group perched itself on the steps in front of Centre Block to protest Motion 103 or M-103, introduced in the House of Commons by Iqra Khalid, a Pakistan-born Liberal MP from Mississauga, Ont. MPs will vote on M-103 Thursday afternoon. Given that the Liberal majority in the House of Commons supports M-103, it is certain to pass.
Khalid seeks to accomplish three things with M- 103: First, that the House “condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination;” second, that the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage be instructed to study the issue of “eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination i ncluding Islamophobia;” and that the federal government collect data on hate crimes for further study.
The motion is not a piece of proposed legislation. Indeed, many opponents of the motion and commentators often refer incorrectly to M-103 as a “bill.” It is not and should it pass in a House of Commons vote, it would create no new laws nor would it change any laws.
And yet of the 35 or so people protesting against M- 103 Tuesday at lunch, many shouted that they believed the adoption of M-103 will be the first step toward stifling free speech and establishing sharia law in Canada.
A handful of the antiM-103 protesters were wearing “Soldiers of Odin Canada” sweatshirts. Soldiers of Odin, on its Facebook page, says it is a non- profit dedicated to defending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but its critics allege it is an anti-immigrant, anti-refugee group.
The mob that was counter-protesting c al l ed t hem “Nazis” and “fascists” and chanted “Soldiers of Odin, go back to Sweden.”
There were only about 25 in the counter- demonstration, all wearing balaclavas or otherwise covering their face. One man, who would not identify himself, said they were concealing their identities from the anti-M-103 protesters because they believed they would be harassed if their identities were revealed.
CREATE NO NEW LAWS NOR WOULD IT CHANGE ANY LAWS.