Justin Trudeau has unfairly setup Amira Elghawaby as a lone target. Why would Trudeau single out a visibly Muslim woman to take on a mandate that would no doubt critique Quebec’s Bill 21, an issue he has been skirting? Opinion by asmaam
” was the word Quebec’s Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge used this week to describe a 2019 opinion piece co-written by journalist and human rights activist Amira Elghawaby about the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Bill 21, which limits the wearing of religious clothing by public servants in Quebec.
In the lead-up to the 2021 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who named Elghawaby to the strategic role, tossed word salads in response to questions about Bill 21, pandering to valuable Quebec voters., he criticized “the provinces and the territories” who invoke the notwithstanding clause, which allows provincial legislatures to override the Charter and prevent court challenges.
However, the following day, in the wake of attacks from Quebec media and politicians, the PM placed Elghawaby directly in the line of fire,in that 2019 op-ed, betraying a staggering lack of care and understanding of how Muslim women are portrayed and positioned in Canadian politics and media. It is almost impossible to imagine Trudeau and his staff had not anticipated a swift backlash from proponents of Quebec’s discriminatory law.
Muslim women have long been the focus of dog-whistle “debates” about immigration and Islam. As a journalism researcher, I have studied Quebec news coverage of Bill 21’s precursor, Bill 62 , which prohibits face coverings worn by public employees and was passed by then Premier Philippe Couillard’s Liberals in 2017.
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