Quebec’s minister of m inister responsible for Canadian relations on Monday called for the removal from office of the Trudeau government’s first special representative on combating Islamophobia on the grounds of “odious” statements she has posted about Quebec.
“In the name of the government, I asked her to withdraw her comments and apologize. However, she has only tried to justify her odious comments,” Jean-François Roberge said in a written statement, referring to Amira Elghawaby. “This will not do. She must resign and if she does not do so, the government should remove her without delay.”
Roberge’s call for Elghawaby’s dismissal follows comments she made in a 2019 article in the Ottawa Citizen where she said Quebecers seem to be “influenced” by anti-Muslim sentiment.
On Friday, federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre called for Elghawaby’s removal for having made “anti-Quebec, anti-Jewish and anti-police” remarks.
