Liberal MP Iqra Khalid is championing a motion calling on the House to condemn Islamophobia and systemic racism. The motion also calls on a House committee to look at better ways to eliminate "systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada.
The motion builds on one passed with unanimous consent last October, which explicitly referenced Islamophobia. But this week, the Conservatives said they don't like the word because it isn't defined in Khalid's motion.
Some Conservative MPs have also raised concerns about limits to free speech. Conservative MP David Anderson presented his own motion in response, which MPs debated Thursday.
During the debate, Khalid read some of the messages she has received over her motion. In places where the author used unparliamentary language, Khalid inserted the word "blank."
Warning: some language will be offensive to some readers.
- No need to debate her. Simply remind her that she is a merely woman and she needs to sit the blank down and shut the blank up. She has to comply according to Sharia.
- Kill her and be down with it. I agree, she is here to kill us. She is sick and she needs to be deported.
- Real Canadians will rise up and get rid of the nasty blank Muzzie stench in Ottawa. They should all go the blank back to your blank hole where you belong. We will burn down your mosques draper head Muslim.
- Why did Canadians let her in? Ship her back.
- Why don't you get out of my country? You're a disgusting piece of trash and you are definitely not wanted here by the majority of actual Canadians.
- Blank off Pakistani, Yalibani. You blank yourself and go back to your blank hole of a country where you blank come from ugly.
- If I want to call a Muslim piece of blank terorrist, I will. Go back to your blank hole country where you came from blank hole.
- So the little n-word blank is whining about go home you Muslim? You're not home. Blanking stupid sand.
- You're a cultural Marxist. Inclusivity blank trying to ruin Canada. Blank you gently with a chainsaw, you camel-humping terrorist incubator blank.
- Shoot this blank.
Khalid said she's received more than 50,000 responses to the motion and that many of them were "direct hate, direct discrimination and direct threats."
"I have asked my staff to lock the office behind me as I now fear for their safety," she said. "I have asked them not to answer all phone calls so that they don't hear the insults, threats and unbelievable amount of hate shouted at them and myself."
Khalid told Don Martin, host of CTV's Power Play, that her constituency office now has police guarding it because her staff are afraid following the threats against her.
Conservative MP Erin O'Toole thanked Khalid for her bravery, and called the messages "horrific hate speech."
"In some cases, they would appear to violate criminal code provisions on hate speech. Absolutely," he said.
O'Toole asked Khalid whether they could discuss the definition of Islamaphobia without assuming those who want it defined are racist or xenophobic, but Khalid fired back at him.
"I was disappointed that he wanted to ignore and denounce the signature of over 69,000 Canadians that signed a petition to condemn Islamophobia and asked our government to take action on it," she said.
New Democrat MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault said the messages Khalid read make her point about Islamophobia.
"That seems to bring to light certain aspects that some members have difficulty seeing, and are perhaps blinded by or hung up on certain terms, whereas it is evident in her speech that Islamophobia does exist in Canada," he said.
