The federal government must do more to protect Muslims against all hate, especially those who visibly wear religious symbols such as hijabs. Arresting and charging those who commit anti-Muslim attacks is the least Canada can do and these charges need to be followed up with preventative political action.
In addition to four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, Nathaniel Veltman is now facing terror-related charges after driving a truck into a Muslim family on June 6.
In charging the alleged terrorist, the federal government is answering the call from Muslim community organizers who have expressed disappointment in the government’s decision to not pursue terrorism charges following the 2017 attack on the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City that killed six people and injured 19.
The work cannot stop here. When the entire country is reflecting on anti-Muslim hate, the government must draw attention to and eliminate other dangers and discrimination Muslim communities face, especially Muslim women.
According to a recent report from Statistics Canada that measured reported hate crimes targeting religion, Muslim populations were one of the most frequent targets, accounting for 30 per cent of hate crimes in 2019.
The report also found of all violent crimes targeting Muslim populations reported to police, 47 per cent of victims were women or girls. The report notes the high proportion of female victims could be related to wearing head coverings, which make the religious identities of Muslim women more obvious.
Despite these statistics, Canada still creates an unsafe and inequitable environment for Muslim communities while the federal government remains unwilling to address these issues. Quebec’s Laicity Act, which bans public teachers, police officers, government lawyers and other civil servants from wearing religious symbols has already derailed the careers of many Canadian Muslims by stigmatizing religious symbols.
Yet the federal government, even after the attack in London, Ont., refuses to forcefully advocate against this discriminatory legislation. In doing so, it sacrifices an opportunity to deliver meaningful change to Muslim communities and fails to recognize the Islamophobia and trauma Muslims continue to face.
Taking time to reflect is important, but now must also be a time of action. The government cannot allow the meaning and impact of this recent attack to fade away, and instead must call out and eliminate discrimination towards Muslims before more lives are lost.
Featured graphic from file.
