Canadian Parliament Passes Islamophobia Motion

Posted by DanielS on Saturday, 25 March 2017 00:33.

Ms. Iqra Khalid, a Muslim, pushes through anti-Islamophobia motion.

Breitbart, “Canadian Parliament Passes Controversial Islamophobia Motion”, 24 March 2017:

The Canadian House of Commons has passed motion M103 which singles out the criticism of Islam as a form of “Islamophobia”. Critics condemn it as an attack on free speech.

Motion M103 was tabled by Iqra Khalid, a Muslim member of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party. It states the government must “condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination”, was taken to vote on Thursday evening where a total of 201 MPs voted for it and only 91 voted against, Canadian broadcaster Global News reports.

The text of the motion does not clarify what constitutes “Islamophobia” and has led many to speculate what that may mean in the future, with some critics fearing it could lead to Shariah law courts. This concern has led to the circulation of an anti-Shariah petition on the Parliament of Canada website, which has so far been signed by over 24,000 people.

Ms. Khalid, who was born in Pakistan and moved to the UK and then to Canada, said the definition of Islamophobia was: “The irrational hate of Muslims that leads to discrimination.”

When Conservatives asked her to remove Islamophobia from the motion, she said: “I will not do so, any more than I would speak to the Holocaust and not mention that the overwhelming majority of victims were six million followers of the Jewish faith and that anti-Semitism was the root cause of the Holocaust.”

Another part of the bill that has stirred controversy is the passage that asks the government to “recognise the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear”. It is currently unknown what measures the government will take to “quell” “hate and fear” as the motion is not classified as a law and has no effect on current criminal law.

The Conservative Party of Canada are currently holding leadership elections and many of the candidates have come out against M103 including one of the frontrunners, Quebecer Maxime Bernier. Mr. Bernier, a conservative with libertarian free market leanings, said he voted against the bill tweeting: “Free speech is the most fundamental right we have. I am opposed to #m103. Canadians should be treated equally regardless of religion.”

Tags: Activism, Anti-racism, Canadian Politics, Cultural Marxism, Ethnicity and Ethnic Genetic Interests, Free Speech, Globalisation, Immigration and Politics, Islam & Islamification, Jewish Diaspora, Law & Order, That Question Again, The Proposition Nation

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Posted by Canada defends refugee system despite on Tue, 03 Oct 2017 03:34 | #

Reuters, “Canada defends refugee system as Somali immigrant charged in attack”, 2 Oct 2017:

4 Min Read

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, a Somali immigrant, is shown in this police booking photo provided in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, October 2, 2017. Sharif faces charges including five for attempted murder linked the weekend vehicle and knife attack that injured five including a police officer. Edmonton Police Department/Handout via REUTERS

EDMONTON, Alberta (Reuters) - Canada defended its immigration and refugee vetting system on Monday after a Somali immigrant, who had drawn scrutiny for his alleged extremist views, was charged with attempted murder for a weekend vehicle and knife attack that injured five.

Abdulahi Hasan Sharif, 30, is accused of running down a police officer with his car in Edmonton, Alberta, and then stabbing him repeatedly. He then ran down four pedestrians during an attempt to evade capture.

Sharif faces 11 charges including five for attempted murder linked to the rampage in the western Canadian city on Saturday night and police said more charges could be laid.

He came to Canada in 2012 and was granted refugee status in the same year, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said.

Though targeted in a probe two years ago for promoting extremist ideology, Sharif was deemed to pose no threat after what the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) described on Sunday as an “exhaustive investigation.”

Goodale said it would be wrong to blame the attack on any shortcomings in Canada’s immigration and refugee vetting system.

“There’s absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever. The investigation is ongoing, but that conclusion is just not supported by the facts,” Goodale told reporters in Ottawa.

Still, the attack could leave Prime Minister Justin Trudeau open to more criticism from conservatives for the welcoming message he extended to refugees earlier this year, after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a travel ban targeting several Muslim-majority countries.

Canada has seen a surge in illegal border crossings this year as people fearing a U.S. immigration crackdown and possible deportation sought asylum.

Opposition Conservative parliamentarian Michelle Rempel said the incident raised questions about how police and immigration officials share information.

“If there are gaps in the system that allowed this to happen, what are we going to do to fix those?” Rempel asked in comments to Reuters.

Edmonton’s refugee and Somali communities are bracing for a backlash in the wake of the attack, and met on Monday to discuss how to move forward, said Ahmed Abdulkadir, executive director of the Ogaden Somali Community of Alberta.

“We’ve been receiving phone calls from moms asking us what to do” and whether it’s safe to send their children to school, Abdulkadir said.

Sharif’s bail hearing was delayed until Tuesday but police released a photo of Sharif taken after his capture, showing a young man gazing directly at the camera, a large bruise on his forehead.

Karen King, one of Sharif’s neighbors in an Edmonton, said he kept to himself and lived alone. Another, Jeff Dearman, said he played loud music and chanted sometimes.

“It was all normal other than that,” Dearman said.

Two of the four people injured on Saturday remained in hospital, with one listed in serious condition, RCMP Superintendent Stacey Talbot told a news conference.

Despite the incident, Canada’s government said it was keeping the terrorism threat level at medium, where it has been since late 2014 after two deadly attacks attributed to homegrown radicals. The incidents led to tougher new anti-terrorism measures.

In October, 2014, a gunman killed a soldier at Ottawa’s national war memorial before launching an attack on the Canadian Parliament. In the same week, a man ran down two soldiers in Quebec, killing one.