House of Commons passes anti-Islamophobia motion

The House of Commons has passed M-103, a non-binding motion condemning Islamophobia and religious discrimination.

All NDP and nearly all Liberal MPs supported the motion, which passed 201-91. The majority of Conservative MPs voted against, with leadership candidate Michael Chong and Simcoe North MP Bruce Stanton voting in favour. Mississauga Liberal MP Gagan Sikand and Barrie Conservative MP Alex Nuttall both abstained.

The vote follows months of bitter debate and a series of protests and counter-protests across the country over whether the private member's motion would limit free speech or single out Islam for special treatment in Canadian law.

It had additional symbolic significance in the emotional aftermath of the Jan. 29 mosque shooting in Quebec City, where six Muslim men were killed.

The motion was tabled by Mississauga-Erin Mills Liberal MP Iqra Khalid on Dec. 5, 2016. She spoke to reporters after the motion passed Thursday.

"I'm really happy that the vote today has shown positive support for this motion and I'm really looking forward to the committee taking on this study," she said.

Khalid's motion calls on the government to do three things:

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.

Liberals rejected an attempt by Saskatchewan Conservative MP David Anderson to remove the word "Islamophobia​" from the motion and change the wording to "condemn all forms of systemic racism, religious intolerance and discrimination of Muslims, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, Hindus and other religious communities.

Anderson argued Islamophobia was not defined in Khalid's motion, and that its inclusion contributed to widespread confusion and fears about the effect on freedom of speech.

Khalid told reporters she didn't think changing the wording of her motion was the result of broad consultation and changing it wouldn't have led to Conservative support.

"It was a really collaborative effort amongst all Canadians and amongst all parliamentarians and I was not able to find consensus," Khalid said.

"Really, changing the wording of the motion would have watered it down and I think the committee can really look into this if it is an issue."

Anderson, the Conservative who tried to amend the motion, said he didn't see much difference between himself and Khalid on the issue after the vote.

"I think that many of us have wanted to have a mature discussion about this for a long time, and I think actually Ms. Khalid and I would be on the exact same wavelength on that issue," Anderson said.

"The committee can do a good job and we can have a discussion about what this means for Canada, the role of Islam in Canada, and it's time we had that discussion and did it on a different level than we have over the last month."

M-103 generated controversy on social media and through online petitions, with some incorrectly suggesting it is a "law" or a "bill" rather than a non-binding motion. Some have raised concerns it would lead to some form of Shariah law in Canada.

The NDP caucus voted in favour of both versions of the motion.