requests the Commons heritage committee to study how the government could develop a government-wide approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination.” (Harris, 2017) The house of commons passed the motion with a vote of 201 for and 91 against.
Although it has passed with majority in the house, the motion has grabbed a lot of attention from the public, many of who feel that it is a violation of free speech and gives special treatment to the Islamic community. Despite these allegations, M-103 is a beneficial motion as it addresses that racism and discrimination are not welcome in Canada, it acts as relief from hate crime and its fear and can potentially lower the crime against Muslims due to Islamophobia.
Canada is a country that represents multiculturalism and diversity. It was also the first country to create a policy on multiculturalism. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, …show more content…
opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;(c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association.” (Section 2, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) M-103 is designed to protect Muslims against violence and abuse while considering these freedoms. It is an attempt to make sure that the same conditions exist for Muslims as any other group in Canada. The Canadian Government is trying to take a stand for a global issue during a time when hate crimes are drastically increasing. Donald Trumps victory in the United States presidential election of 2016 has been an event causing and promoting discrimination worldwide. Iqra Khalid made it clear that while M-103 is taking a stand for Muslims, it does not violate any aspect of freedom for Canadians. “On the notion that M-103 grants special privilege to Muslims, she noted it calls for a study of all forms of religious discrimination. On the fear that it would restrict free speech, she noted the motion is not legally binding and will serve as a ‘catalyst for Canadians to speak out against religious discrimination and be heard.’” (Maloney, 2017) It is an effort to end all types of religious discrimination without restricting anyone from their rights as it is not a law, but a motion to direct Canadians to practicing equality. Part of Canadian culture is to maintain peace and unity and the belief is that religion does not define a person, therefor they should not be treated accordingly.
M-103 is a symbol for fighting back fear, ending unfair discrimination and defending the Canadian values incorporated in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Knowing that the Canadian Government is trying to tackle Islamophobia will support many Muslims both mentally and emotionally. In 2014, a student was physically and verbally abused because of her choice to wear a hijab. “The Ryerson University student said she was on Toronto’s public transit system when a woman told her to go home, pulled her hijab, and spat on her…The engineering student was so shocked, she didn’t talk about it for weeks. She also stopped wearing the hijab.” (Kohut, 2017) Many Muslim men and women experience such discrimination everyday because of their appearance. Many times, these occurrences negatively affect an individual’s morale and emotional wellbeing. Motion 103 may act as a source of confidence for many of these individuals during a confrontation or it may help attain trust in themselves and their government. Knowing that the Canadian Government is doing something about this issue will be very relieving to many people. Ever since the mosque shooting took place in Montréal, hate crime has been rising in great numbers. “While protests are taking place across the country, the demonstrations in Quebec will be especially noteworthy given heightened fears within the Muslim community following the mosque attack... Montreal police said 30 hate crimes had been reported in the city since the Jan. 29th shooting. There was an average of 11 per month last year.” (Montpetit, 2017) This has turned into a great matter of fear for many residents. These incidents lead to trauma and have very negative impacts on an individual’s mental wellbeing. In these circumstances, it can get very difficult for one to casually lead their daily lifestyle.
Islamophobia has become so prominent today that it is undeniable and a serious problem.
M-103 is a significant attempt at addressing Islamophobia and decreasing the crime and abuse caused by it. “While the Muslim population grows, acceptance has wavered. A 2013 poll found that more than half (54 per cent) of Canadians viewed Islam ‘unfavourably.’ A 2016 poll also found that 54 per cent of Canadians held an unfavourable opinion of Muslims. Hate crimes against Muslim-Canadians more than doubled over a three-year span, statistics revealed last year.” (Kohut, 2017) Surprisingly, the total number of hate crimes are decreasing but the number of hate crimes against Muslims appears to be increasing continuously. The biggest misconception that leads to hate is that Islam promotes terrorism. The media plays a big role in projecting Muslims as a promoter of terrorism, which leads to intimidation of the whole group. Shortly after the passing of M-103, a Facebook group containing over fourty thousand members known as La Meute planned to protest the motion because they do not support Islam and believe that M-103 is an unacceptable favour for Muslims. However, M-103 will not affect them in any way as it is not a law. Conducting a study on rising Islamophobia may help solve misconceptions about Muslims and m-103 and will indicate that discrimination is intolerable and not welcome in Canada. M-103 states that “The latter would require the heritage committee to collect data on hate crime
reports, conduct needs assessments for affected communities and present findings within eight months.” (News, 2017) People will be forced to be more cautious if they know that the federal government is taking a stand on this issue. On the long term, this motion can lower all types of discrimination if the necessary precautions are taken by the government.
Islamophobia is currently an unremitting issue and therefor, a government should take precautions to protect its citizens from becoming victims of hate. If actions aren’t implemented seriously, innocent people will be subject to systematic racism targeted towards a religion. After the Montréal incident, “We’ve got six dead. We’ve got 17 orphans. We’ve got six widows. We’ve got 39 survivors who aren’t living their lives normally.” (Peritz, 2017) Motion-103 is a symbolic attempt to tackle Islamophobia, it is not a violation of free speech nor does it negatively affect any individual. However, it does provide hope towards equality and an inclusive and nondiscriminatory world.