MPs call for summit on Islamophobia

Lawmakers unanimously support talks this summer: ‘No one should ever feel unsafe in their community’

OTTAWA — Federal lawmakers are calling on the government to convene an emergency summit on Islamophobia by the end of July.

In the House of Commons on Friday, MPs gave unanimous consent to an NDP motion demanding the gathering in response to Sunday’s deadly attack against a Muslim family in London, Ont.

London-Fanshawe MP Lindsay Mathyssen, who brought forward the non-binding motion, says the Liberal government needs to go beyond expressing condolences.

“A Muslim family went out for a walk, like so many families and people have been doing in this pandemic, and this family didn’t make it back home because of hate. No one should ever feel unsafe in their community and neighbourhood,” she said in a statement.

The motion follows a call for the summit in the form of a petition — it had more than 40,000 signatures as of Friday evening — from the National Council of Canadian Muslims.

“This loss of a family, the loss of a child in our community because of Islamophobia — this is a sorrow that will run deep for a long time. Let that sorrow be the ground where we stand for justice and stand for change,” the petition reads.

New Democrat Leader Jagmeet Singh said Canada must urgently address a problem with white supremacy and farright radicalization and make policy changes at every level of government to prevent another attack.

Conservative Leader Erin

O’Toole said in a Twitter post that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should take “urgent action.”

Police allege the attack, which saw four family members driven down and killed on Sunday night, was a planned act that targeted Muslims.