Canada eliminates Islamophobia, antisemitism envoys from government

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has eliminated the offices of the government envoys against Islamophobia and antisemitism, despite pledging he would not do so during his election campaign nearly one year ago.

On Wednesday, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Marc Miller announced that a "Rights, Equality and Inclusion" advisory council would instead tackle issues of racism in Canada across the board. 

The move comes just a week after Canada observed its National Day of Remembrance of the Québec City Mosque Attack and Action against Islamophobia on 29 January. On that date in 2017, a man burst into a mosque in Quebec's Sainte-Foy neighbourhood and opened fire, killing six worshippers and wounding 19 others. 

"The horror of that day remains a solemn reminder of the pervasiveness of Islamophobia and the devastating consequences of hatred," Carney wrote in a statement released last week. 

Ottawa had not had a special envoy to combat antisemitism since former Canadian diplomat at the United Nations Deborah Lyons retired six months ago. 

The Toronto Star indicated the government had been struggling to fill that position ever since. 

But Lyons' counterpart on Islamophobia, former journalist and human rights advocate Amira Elghawaby, was still at her post until the government's announcement on Wednesday afternoon, local time. 

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She was appointed just three years ago by former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Her term was due to end next year. 

It's unclear whether Elghawaby will be absorbed into the new advisory council. Middle East Eye reached out to her directly for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.  

"I didn't see coming from the Liberals. The Conservative [Party] leader Pierre Poilievre had said that he would eliminate the position if he was to win the election, but for Mark Carney to do it, that's the part that's surprising, because generally, the Muslim community has a very good relationship with the Liberal Party," former Canadian intelligence officer Huda Mukbil told MEE.

Mukbil left the Canadian Security Intelligence Service - Canada's equivalent of the CIA - in 2017, accusing the agency of racism and sexism towards her as a hijab-wearing, Black Muslim woman. 

She is also a personal friend of Elghawaby, and the two women worked together on developing the anti-racism strategy for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada's equivalent of the FBI. 

"She did an incredible job putting that together for us," Mukbil told MEE.

"Amira has consensus within the Muslim community to be their voice."

'We're missing a partner'

In response to the killing of four members of a Muslim family in London, Ontario, in 2021 - just two years after the mosque attack - the government convened the first anti-Islamophobia summit, through which Elghawaby received widespread support. 

But serving in the role opened her up to a spate of attacks, particularly as anti-Muslim harassment ramped up following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, and Israel's subsequent genocide in Gaza, where over 71,800 Palestinians have been killed to date.

According to The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), where Elghawaby previously worked, more Muslims have been killed in targeted hate attacks in Canada than in any other G7 country.

Her presence at the federal level ensured that anti-Muslim incidents were always highlighted to lawmakers, NCCM's Steven Zhou told MEE.

"We don't know what the new [advisory] council is going to look like, but with [Elghawaby's] voice gone... we're missing a partner."