Greetings!
Bill 83 which has already passed two readings in the Ontario Legislature, must be defeated - it's purpose is to designate an Annual Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia.
This bill is only concerned with one group in Ontario - it ignores the concerns of many other Canadian groups in Ontario which are also targeted, by hate, persecution and malice such as the Black community, the Yazidis, the Jewish community and others.
One of the problems is that the term, Islamophobia, is not well defined and has many interpretations. Specifically it attempts to protect Islam and Sharia from criticism or it means fear of Islam while many people incorrectly think that it means anti-Muslim hatred - note it is NOT similar to Antisemitism which is hatred of Jews.
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
We must ask our Premier, Doug Ford, and other MPPs to take a stand on Bill 83.
We must also ask, the Chair of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Social Policy, PC MPP Nina Tangri to stop this Bill 83 from being approved.
Several Writing Points to Consider
:
- Bill 83 calls on Ontarians to “eliminate Islamophobia” - it really means that people should not say anything critical of Islam or Sharia.
- This bill is divisive rather than unifying Ontarians.
- The bill is biased in assuming that all non-Muslims are Islamophobic.
- The term Islamophobia has different interpretations and is often misunderstood.
- It is designed to protect Islam and Sharia and is thus antithetical to Western Democracy.
- To put in place a special day with rules for one religious group is to discriminate against all others such as the Yazidis, Christians, Jews
- The Muslim people are not the most discriminated people in Canada according to Statistics Canada, first are the Blacks and then the Jews
- The fundamental rights and freedoms of all Canadians need to be protected above those of special interest groups.
- There already is criminal legislation against hate.
- There is an unsubstantiated claim that Canadian Muslims are targets of widespread hatred directed at them by their non-Muslim neighbours.
- Muslims who came to Canada to escape the bigotries of sharia, forced the provincial government to back away from instituting sharia family courts in 2005. We must do so again.
- At the Federal level, the government refrained from passing a similar bill since Canadians indicated strongly that they were against this bill.
Those who are pushing for Bill 83, try to explain the purpose of the bill by citing the Quebec City mosque attack of January, 2017 and, further afield, the recent Christchurch attacks in New Zealand which had nothing to do with hatred of Muslims.
With the Montreal attack, there
were no charges of “hate” or “terror” levelled in this attack and the self-confessed murderer, Alexandre Bissonette, was suffering from a dark and deep depression.
The alleged killer of Christchurch had nothing to do with “Islamophobia” motivations as expressed in his own detailed manifesto showing that he was a fan of fascism and communism and hated 'mass migration' and the disruption it caused.
We need to instruct our misinformed political leaders.
WRITE TO OUR GOVERNMENT ON BILL 83
Write to the Chair of Ontario’s Standing Committee on Social Policy, PC MPP Nina Tangri with a copy to Premier Doug Ford, your own MPP and your MP.
PLEASE WRITE using the information above, or by personalizing the following sample letter (just change some of the phrases)- letters should be polite and brief - please forward me a copy of your letter to
[email protected]
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear MPP Tangri,
Please direct your Standing Committee on Social Policy to say NO to Bill 83. They should be asked to reconsider the premises and assumptions that underlie Bill 83 – a Bill to create a “Day of Remembrance and Action on “Islamophobia” in Ontario”. This is not what the people of Ontario want.
The Standing Committee should review Bill 83 as it proposes to shield one community from hate while ignoring all others religious communities. In addition, Bill 83 is biased in its assumption that all non-Muslim Ontarians are “Islamophobic”. The term is misunderstood with many interpretations. While some people believe that Islamophobia means hatred for Muslims, most Muslim leaders accept that the term means criticism of Islam and Sharia.
Bill 83 stands for concepts that are antithetical to the freedoms within our Western liberal democracy. Thus this Bill should be defeated.
Your Committee should instead re-word the Bill to call for “A Day of Remembrance and Action Against Racism and Religious Discrimination” while choosing a date that is more inclusive. October 22 October – the day of the War Memorial and Parliament Hill shootings of 2014 would be a good choice of date.
Statistics Canada
data has recorded decreasing levels of hate crimes against Muslims while Statistics Canada reports over the past several years, the Jewish community in Canada is the most maligned.
By singling out Muslims for “special recognition” and solidarity,
you essentially ignore all other peoples' ongoing tortures, assaults, abuses, neglect - including Indigenous First Nations, Blacks, Jews, LGBTQ, Christians (ongoing mass murders of Coptics), and Yazidis and their enduring hardships, genocides.
By focusing on Muslims only, you are setting a dangerous precedent that stands to divide more than it unites.
Please direct the Standing Committee to vote against Bill 83 which would be of great disservice to Ontario citizens.
I look forward to a reply to my letter in the near future.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME, ADDRESS AND POSTAL CODE, email address
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WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
!
Please encourage friends and family to sign petition and write as well.
Shirley Anne Haber
The Media Action Group
