In a shady corner of Barrie’s Heritage Park, a picnic was held Saturday afternoon to oppose M-103 – a federal motion which condemns Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.
Organized by Suffragettes Against Silence, its key speaker was Jennifer Bush, who lived in Barrie for 20 years.
“Quite frankly, I’m sick of sitting down and acting like a lady,” she said through a small PA system to about 20 people listening.
“The time has come to speak out, it is essential, and (M-)103 is crushing down upon us and free speech is the first casualty of democracy, and we are going to lose that right and we are losing the right to fight any changes that are to follow.”
Signs on display included We Will Not Be ‘Quelled’ and Freedom is Our Nationality.
Suffragettes Against Silence says it is an educational, motivational and activist organization, fighting for women’s and girls’ freedoms, for their rights and protections. Bush said she has been a member for a year.
The Suffragettes have said M-103 supports Sharia (Islamic) law and hurts freedom of speech.
M-103 is not a bill or a law, but a private member’s, non-binding motion from Mississauga-Erin Mills Liberal MP Iqra Khalid. In itself it cannot become a law, although it can lead to the development of a bill which could eventually become a law.
M-103 passed by a 201-91 vote in the House of Commons on March 23, 2017; it was a free vote, meaning MPs did not have to follow the party line. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was absent from Parliament that day.
This vote followed a series of protests and counter-protests across Canada about whether Khalid’s motion would limit free speech or single out Islam for special treatment in Canadian law.
Bush gained notoriety by asking federal New Democratic Party leadership candidate Jagmeet Singh pointed questions about Sharia and the Muslim Brotherhood at an event in Brampton earlier this month.
“I judge a person based on their actions and what they stand for,” Bush told her audience Saturday. “What this man (Singh) stands for deserves to be questioned, it deserves to be challenged, as all politicians should be. So this is really the crux of it. I want to hold the man responsible, hold him accountable.”
Singh has not responded to interview requests from the Examiner. But the NDP Bramalea-Gore-Malton MPP did issue a statement after the Brampton event.
“As soon as I was introduced, a person confronted me with angry, hateful, and Islamophobic comments. I had to act fast and set the tone for the room,” he said.
“Despite this person’s anger and hate, I told them that we loved them, respected them, and would protect their rights. I chose not to answer the questions asked because I didn’t accept the premise.”
Singh said he is not Muslim, but Sikh. He is the first turban-wearing Sikh to sit as an Ontario MPP.
Voting began Monday for a new federal NDP leader, and the first results are scheduled to be announced Oct. 1. Singh is one of four candidates to replace Thomas Mulcair.
Bush said Saturday she does not expect the media to convey her message.
“The media, of course, does what the left-wing media does. And that is to crucify people who speak out,” she said.
“Did you not want us to hold these people accountable, to crush people like me and ensure that there aren’t a bunch of Canadians like me standing up and saying ‘what are you doing, why are you doing this and I will not accept this’.
“So we have to understand this is what’s going to come from the media,” Bush said.
Saturday’s picnic also included the presence of Sons of Odin Canada, a Viking-inspired group whose mandate includes fighting the spread of Sharia law in this country.
Its members stood on the Heritage Park picnic’s perimeter Saturday, dressed predominately in black, some wearing gloves. Sons of Odin formed in February.
M-103, Systemic racism and religious discrimination
Text of the Motion:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should: (a) recognize the need to quell the increasing public climate of hate and fear; (b) condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination and take note of House of Commons’ petition e-411 and the issues raised by it; and (c) request that the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage undertake a study on how the government could (i) develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination including Islamophobia, in Canada, while ensuring a community-centered focus with a holistic response through evidence-based policy-making, (ii) collect data to contextualize hate crime reports and to conduct needs assessments for impacted communities, and that the Committee should present its findings and recommendations to the House no later than 240 calendar days from the adoption of this motion, provided that in its report, the Committee should make recommendations that the government may use to better reflect the enshrined rights and freedoms in the Constitution Acts, including the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Source: Government of Canada