OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney is doing away with a pair of Trudeau-era positions: Canada’s special envoys on combatting antisemitism and Islamophobia.
These designated roles are being replaced by what’s being called the “Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion,” which is being tasked with combatting racism and hate in all forms.
“It’s about folding in those two positions unto a new committee on national unity,” Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller said Wednesday.
He said that the Liberals know how divided the country has become, and that the stand-alone positions “played an important part in identifying these issues that have become in the case of Islamophobia and antisemitism, quite polarized.”
“Now it’s about taking the next step into a national unity committee that is broad, that does recognize the specificities of Islamophobia and antisemitism, but is focused on national unity,” Miller said. “And I think that’s important.”
Miller said the council would report to him as well as Carney, relaying “their important views and approaches on what we do as a next step.”
Canada’s last special envoy on combatting antisemitism was Deborah Lyons, who resigned in July. Meanwhile, Canada’s special representative on combatting Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, still had a year left in her role.
The new council will be comprised of yet-to-be-named academics, experts, and community leaders. They will be responsible for consulting across the country and co-ordinating efforts to protect rights, with the mission of fostering “social cohesion” and rallying Canadians “around shared identity.”
Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups say they did not see the shift in approach coming, and are now calling on the federal government to assure them the work being done by the respective offices, won’t get diluted under the new model.
“Our immediate reaction was really the same as the reactions of so many people, so many messages that we got from our community, and that is (a) general sense of disappointment that we won’t have a dedicated office or a point person that takes up a special interest and advisory role when it comes to tackling violent, systemic Islamophobia,” said National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) spokesperson Steven Zhou.
Zhou said in an interview that while NCCM remains willing to work with the Prime Minister’s Office, they want to ensure the new advisory model remains inclusive.
B’nai Brith Canada CEO Simon Wolle expressed similar sentiments, telling CTV News that the government needs to provide clarity and assurances that the council will follow up on the work being undertaken by the separate offices.
“We’re in a situation where there is a national crisis of antisemitism, and even an office named to fight that purpose has now been removed from the political landscape,” Wolle said.
“There needs to be direct and specific attention on the fight against antisemitism. It is separate and distinct from that larger mandate of a goal to bring people together and have social cohesion, although they interplay to some extent.”
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) called the federal government terminating both envoy roles “deeply troubling and short-sighted.”
“It is puzzling that such positions would be removed during a time when incidents of Islamophobia and antisemitism are rising across the country,” said CCLA executive director Howard Sapers in a statement.
“The federal government should immediately reconsider this decision and recommit to ensuring that combating specific forms of hate, such as Islamophobia and antisemitism, are adequately resourced, while continuing to invest in strategies to combat all forms of hate and protect the safety, dignity, and rights of everyone in Canada,” Sapers added.
When asked today what this reconfiguration could mean for any community funding connected to the two now-shuttering offices, Miller couldn’t say.
“That is largely to be determined. This isn’t a cost saving operation,” he said. “It is about making sure … that we have a group of experts that will focus precisely on trying to bring people together.”
