The eagerly anticipated M103 report seems to signal victory for citizens who sought to protect free speech. The wording of the report certainly appears to accede to their demand that Islamophobia not be treated as a special case.
Twenty-nine out of the 30 recommendations in the report even avoid the nebulous and troublesome word.
It mentions Islamophobia among a plethora of other issues related to racism and bigotry in Canada — a comprehensive statement that many had sought. The committee report has reinforced these broad recommendations by addressing various areas of concern, such as rights for First Nations citizens, women, transgender people and minorities.
.... The efforts of concerned citizens did pay off to some extent in deflecting the focus from Islamophobia to all incidents of bigotry. But the committee has been rather sly in recommending that Islamophobia still be recognized in a Jan. 29 National Day as part of the very last of its thirty recommendations. The City Council of Toronto is pondering the same.
.... This is despite the committee’s own findings that anti-Semitism is perhaps more of a concern than Islamophobia. According to the report, “While the Muslim population was the religious group that saw the greatest increase in the number of hate crimes against them in 2015, the most targeted group in 2015 remained the Jewish population.” [Toronto Sun] Read more
