Canadian Lawmakers Unanimously Passed A Motion Condemning Islamophobia

An online petition calling for the motion got 70,000 signatures.

Canada's House of Commons gave unanimous consent to a motion last week "condemning all forms of Islamophobia."

Val Young / The Canadian Press

The motion was introduced as a result of an online petition urging lawmakers to condemn anti-Muslim acts and to recognize that violent extremists do not represent the faith of Islam. The petition has gotten almost 70,000 signatures.

It was sponsored by Liberal MP Frank Baylis and introduced in the House by NDP leader Tom Mulcair.

Unanimous consent is often given to uncontroversial motions, but an earlier attempt at passing the anti-Islamophobia motion failed when some Conservative MPs voiced opposition.

Omar Alghabra @OmarAlghabra

It's sad that Conservatives denied to give a unanimous consent to a motion in the House of Commons to condemn all forms of Islamophobia

07:24 PM - 05 Oct 2016

Mulcair, who introduced the motion both times, said he had spoken with the other parties and secured their support. It's not clear on what grounds Tory MPs later objected.

“I can’t see how anybody can speak out against a motion that seeks to condemn a form of hatred,” Mulcair said at the time.

There were no objections the second time around, though, and the motion received the House's unanimous consent on Oct. 26.

There has been an increase in police-reported hate crimes against Canadian Muslims in recent years.

handout / CP

Police recorded 99 religiously motivated hate crimes against Canadian Muslims in 2014, the last year for which Statistics Canada has released numbers. That's more than double what it was in 2012.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims, which tracks anti-Muslim acts independently, has recorded more than 50 incidents in 2016 so far, with more incidents recorded in October than any other month.

These figures are almost certainly undercounting the real numbers, since many hate crimes go unreported.

NCCM Executive Director Ihsaan Gardee welcomed the anti-Islamophobia motion passed by the House, saying in a statement that it sent "a strong message" that discrimination is not acceptable in Canada.

"We look forward to seeing how our parliamentarians will work concretely to combat this rising phenomenon," he said.