Islamophobia bill passes, with strong objections

OTTAWA • The House of Commons voted Thursday afternoon to condemn “Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination” but the vote for the controversial M-103 was not unanimous.

Liberals, New Democrats, and Green Party MP Elizabeth May were in favour; most Conservative and all Bloc Québécois MPs were opposed.

The vote was 201 for and 91 against.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and four other cabinet ministers were absent.

NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair was present — he voted in favour — as was interim Conservative leader MP Rona Ambrose, who was opposed.

It was a free vote, meaning MPs did not have to follow a party line, and two Conservative MPs voted in favour: leadership candidate Michael Chong and Ontario MP Bruce Stanton.

The motion was proposed by Iqra Khalid, a first-time MP representing a Mississauga, Ont. riding. In addition to the resolution condemning Islamophobia, it asks the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage to study the issue of “eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia;” and calls on the federal government collect data on hate crimes for further study.

“Our country is very diverse,” Khalid said after the vote. “I think that we need to continue to build those bridges amongst Canadians, and this is just one way that we can do this, by really understanding the issue and really listening to what Canadians have to say.

“I’m really looking forward to the track that the Canadian Heritage Committee takes on this.”

Meanwhile a new poll released Thursday suggests that if the vote on M-103 was up to most Canadians, it would fail.

Pollster Angus Reid Institute asked 1,511 Canadians, “if you were a Member of Parliament, how would you vote on this motion (M-103)” and found that 42 per cent would vote against it; 29 per cent would vote in favour and 29 per cent were not sure or would have abstained.

In debate earlier this week, Conservative MPs endorsed the sentiment, but objected to the wording of the motion in the belief that it could lead to the suppression of speech rights.

“The word ‘Islamophobia’ can be used to mean both discrimination against Muslims and criticism of Islamic doctrine or practice. It is important that we not conflate the two — religious people deserve legal protection, but religions do not,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said during a Commons debate Tuesday night.

“People should not discriminate against individuals, but should feel quite free to criticize the doctrine, history, or practice of any religion.”

Liberals, including Khalid, maintain that the motion would in no way infringe on speech rights and would instead be a powerful symbol of solidarity with Muslim Canadians.