Recent Coverage
Muslim groups asks for Jan. 29 day of remembrance for 2017 mosque shooting
By Janice Dickson
iPolitics | January 5, 2018
As the Jan. 29 anniversary of the 2017 Quebec City mosque attack approaches, Muslim leaders are asking Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to designate that date as a “National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia.”
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) released an open letter addressed to Trudeau on Friday.
“One year on, Canadian Muslim communities are still reeling from the devastating terrorist attack that claimed the lives of six Muslim men worshipping in their mosque — fathers, husbands and ...
Study reveals Muslim children are routinely ridiculed for their beliefs and attacked verbally
By Megan Stacey
London Free Press | December 27, 2017
Racial uglinesss and hatred, like the kind that’s repeatedly thrust London under a harsh spotlight in recent years, takes a toll.
Just ask the local Muslim kids who were studied to see how that hostility plays out in their everyday lives.
The fallout is so severe, some of the children say they’re even afraid to go to their mosques.
That’s just one disturbing finding from a study done by Siham Elkassem, a child and family therapist at Vanier Children’s Centre in London.
“A lot of the kids talked ...
Inmate complaints on the rise over access to religious services
By David Burke
CBC News | December 23, 2017
In prison, one of the only freedoms inmates have is to practise their religion — but in some cases, even that's getting harder to do.
There's been an increase in the number of prisoners filing complaints to the Canadian Human Rights Commission about religious accommodation.
Inmates are concerned about the delivery of spiritual services, the accommodation of spiritual practices and the observance of holy days, said Ivan Zinger, Canada's correctional investigator, the country's prison watchdog.
Religious leaders ...
Board member of anti-racism agency fired amid accusations of Islamophobic commentary
By Jennifer Yang
Toronto Star | December 21, 2017
A board member with the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, an arms-length federal government agency established to counteract racism, has been fired amid concerns over what Muslim advocacy groups describe as “Islamophobic commentary” and her “public association with purveyors of hateful propaganda.”
Christine Douglass-Williams has been a board member since 2012 and her dismissal was confirmed on Wednesday to foundation chairperson Albert Lo. He said he was notified by the Department of Canadian Heritage, ...
TVA apologizes for mosque story, says it will investigate ‘journalistic process’
By René Bruemmer
Montreal Gazette | December 15, 2017
The TVA news network apologized Friday for a controversial and since debunked report on mosques banning women from a nearby construction site, but a national Muslim organization says the network needs to go further.
At the mosques Friday, worshippers filled the halls and leaders praised the government and other media for their quick work to bring out the truth, but many said the damage wrought by the news report had already been done, once again stirring anti-Muslim sentiment and bringing fear and a sense of ...
Intelligence reform needed to rebuild confidence, Muslim group tells MPs
By Jim Bronskill
Canadian Press | December 12, 2017
OTTAWA — Reform of national security agencies — not just more oversight and review — is needed to rebuild confidence and trust, a national Muslim group says.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims told MPs studying the Liberal government’s wide-ranging national security bill Tuesday that new watchdog powers won’t fix the “culture of impunity” and systemic ills within Canadian security agencies.
The council’s executive director, Ihsaan Gardee, said the bill strengthens the security establishm...
Quebec judge stays controversial face-cover law Bill 62
By Ingrid Peritz
The Globe & Mail | December 1, 2017
A judge has suspended Quebec's requirement that people show their faces to obtain public services, dealing the province's controversial "religious neutrality" law its first legal setback.
The Superior Court ruling on Friday means that, for now, people in Quebec who wear the Muslim niqab can continue accessing services such as taking the bus or borrowing a library book without showing their faces.
Since the adoption of Bill 62 by the Quebec National Assembly in October, it has been illegal for anyone in the ...
Uber Canada’s service animal policy criticized by some disability rights advocates
By Peter Goffin
November 20, 2017 | The Canadian Press
TORONTO - Uber Canada has launched a new policy on how its drivers deal with customers who have service animals, but some disability rights advocates say exemptions built into the rules could still lead to discrimination.
The company's policy says drivers who refuse to give rides to customers with service animals will be dismissed.
But drivers could get an exemption if they provide Uber with "written evidence, like a doctor's or cleric's letter ... confirming that they belong to a group protected by human ...
Bill 62 being challenged in court
CTV News | November 7, 2017
A legal challenge to Quebec's legislation banning face coverings has been filed.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association are challenging Bill 62 as a violation of the constitution.
The Muslim woman challenging the lawsuit, Marie-Michelle Lacoste, argues that the law which is supposed to provide a level playing field for religious neutrality, actually creates a difficult burden for those who wish to abide by the tenets of their religion.
Her lawyers are asking for the courts to block ...
Quebec’s face-covering law heads for constitutional challenge
These violations cannot be justified in Quebec's free and democratic society,' plaintiffs say
By Benjamin Shingler
CBC News | November 7, 2017
Civil liberties advocates have launched a legal challenge over the constitutionality of Quebec's face-covering ban, arguing it "directly infringes on the freedom of religion of individuals."
The law passed last month requires people to uncover their face to receive public services under certain circumstances.
The legal challenge, filed Tuesday in Quebec Superior Court, contests a section of the province's religious ...