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Government of Canada's National Summit on Islamophobia to be held Thursday July 22
Written by Making HeadlinesOn July 9th, the Honourable Bardish Chagger, the Government of Canada's Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, announced that "To continue building on Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy, the Government of Canada will host the National Summit on Antisemitism on July 21, and the National Summit on Islamophobia on July 22."
She stated that, "These summits will bring together a diverse group of community and political leaders, academics, activists, and members with intersectional identities within these communities. This includes the Honourable Irwin Cotler, Canada's Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, who will participate in the National Summit on Antisemitism. Together, participants will continue charting a path forward to combat racism and discrimination."
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), who organized a petition demanding that the government hold a National Summit on Islamophobia after the terrorist attack that killed four members of the Afzal family in London, Ontario. On July 12th, NCCM posted the following statement about how they consulted with Muslim community members to inform the discussion at this summit: "We heard politicians from all levels of government call the London attack an act of terror and commit to change. The real test of their commitment to end the future loss of life will be whether the recommendations arising from this Summit are adopted quickly and expediently. This past month, we have conducted dozens of consultations, received hundreds of concrete policy submissions, and heard from organizations collectively representing hundreds of thousands of Canadian Muslims. Our recommendations, drawing on those consultations, will be publicly available at the end of this week.