Call for more Muslim professors: Quebec says anti-Islamophobia adviser must resign

Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s special representative on combating Islamophobia, prepares to appear as a witness before the Senate human rights committee, at the Senate building in Ottawa, on March 27, 2023. (The Canadian Press/Justin Tang)

The Quebec government renewed its call for Canada's special representative on combating Islamophobia to resign Friday, after she sent a letter to college and university heads recommending the hiring of more Muslim, Arab and Palestinian professors.

The existence of the letter, dated Aug. 30, was first reported by Le Journal de Québec, and a Canadian Heritage spokesperson said Friday it was sent to institutions across the country.

In her letter, Amira Elghawaby says that since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, a dangerous climate has arisen on campuses. She offered a number of suggestions to ease tensions within educational institutions: supporting freedom of expression and academic freedom; briefing campus leaders on civil liberties and Islamophobia; and hiring more professors of Muslim, Arab and Palestinian origin.

It was the reference to hiring that drew the immediate indignation of Quebec's higher education minister, who called on Elghawaby to resign, saying she should "mind her own business." Minister Pascale Déry said hiring professors based on religion goes against the principles of secularism the province adheres to.

"She has no legitimacy to ask our colleges and universities what to do," Déry said through her X account, adding that Elghawaby had "insulted" Quebecers on "several occasions."

Déry said that what is on the rise on campuses is antisemitism. “I will spare no effort to ensure that our institutions do everything possible to restore a healthy and safe environment for all students and to counter bullying and hatred,” Déry wrote.

Speaking to reporters in the Montreal area, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while each university has its own rules on hiring, Elghawaby's role is to make recommendations and encourage dialogue between different groups.

"At the same time, we've seen an increase in rhetoric and tension and I think we all have to really reflect on what we're doing to bring people together to make sure we're listening to each other and even people with very different perspectives that may challenge us, make sure that we're hearing each other," Trudeau said.

Premier François Legault, who was standing next to Trudeau during a news conference about investments in satellite construction, called the recommendation "totally unacceptable."

"Not only is (education) a jurisdiction of the Quebec government, but it is a jurisdiction of the universities," Legault said.

"So it is up to the universities to choose the professors who are the most qualified. I find it unacceptable that someone would suggest favouring a religious group when we are in a secular state."

Later in Repentigny, Que., Legault criticized Trudeau for defending Elghawaby "in the name of diversity" and refusing to call for her resignation.

Her appointment in January 2023 was met with immediate backlash in Quebec due to her past comments criticizing the province's secularism law, which prohibits some public sector workers in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols on the job. A 2019 opinion piece she co-wrote with former Canadian Jewish Congress CEO Bernie Farber said that according to polling data "a majority of Quebecers" who supported the law also held anti-Muslim views.

In response to her nomination, Quebec political leaders in 2023 called on Elghawaby, a journalist and human rights activist, to have her appointment as Canada's first anti-Islamophobia representative rescinded. The next month, in February 2023, she apologized for the opinion piece. 

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Jean-François Roberge also criticized Elghawaby on Friday for interfering in the management of Quebec institutions and committing the "unthinkable" act of hiring professors based on their faith.

"She has no legitimacy to make recommendations for Quebec," Roberge said. "She must leave her position, and it should simply be abolished."

A spokesperson for Canadian Heritage said that Elghawaby was not available for comment on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.

— With files from Caroline Plante in Quebec City and Pierre Saint-Arnaud in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.