Quebec’s overblown backlash to the appointment of Amira Elghawaby as special representative on combatting Islamophobia in response to her analysis of a poll from back in 2019. And is the government telling us to only drink two alcoholic beverages a week?

It's 2023 and diversity has been a thing for a long time now.

Why can't we all just get along?

Exactly... a 2 year-old Arabic girl (she was with her dad) at the pharmacy offered me a piece of chocolate today. This a gift you cannot refuse.

I agree with Andrew. No matter who was appointed to look into these issues, Quebec would object.

We were told by the Prime Minister’s Office that Amira Elghawaby was appointed as Canada’s first Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia “following an open, transparent, and merit-based selection process.” It is beyond my comprehension how such a process would not have involved a simple web search to see whether Elghawaby had said or written something that could be embarrassing for the government or her, or both. For instance, writings that would have revealed a simplistic view of Islamophobia in Québec?

PW: Quebec Solidaire is [partly] against that law (Bill 21). Montreal mayor Valérie Plante opposed it but will apply it now that it’s law. Do you think there’s some cultural division between Montreal and the rest of Quebec on these questions?

AB: More and more. Look at the result of the electoral map in last year’s Quebec election. It’s pretty flagrant. You can’t deny that reality. But at the same time, there are people with opinions [all over] — you know, the CAQ might well win a riding with half the vote, that means there are still half who voted Liberal or Québec solidaire or Green. Our electoral system distorts things. But I would say that it’s not just Montreal and the rest of Quebec. In general it’s cities and regions. You can find the same polarisation between Toronto and other parts of Ontario, or between Edmonton and the rest of Alberta.

PW: What mark would you give the Trudeau government for its handling of this file?

AB: They don’t get a passing grade. I don’t know Mme Elghawaby, maybe she’s an excellent person, I’d like to discuss this with her. I think she showed a lack of sensitivity toward Quebec history and culture. But you can catch up. Everyone has things to learn, I’ve got things to learn too, everyone does. But you know, when you’re in a political party, you do research on candidates before you send them to the nominating meeting. You look at what they’ve written in the past, on social media, columns, open letters and so on. If we can do that in a little organization like the NDP, how is it that the government of Canada wasn’t able to find — I’m not saying she’s not the right person to name, it’s just that, at a minimum, they should be aware and prepare themselves a bit! It’s as though even they were surprised by all this. Vetting is normal in a political party, and they didn’t handle it well here from the outset.