The special representative of Canada tasked with combating Islamophobia, Amira Elghawaby, once again finds herself under fire, this time for urging colleges and universities across the country to hire more “Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab” professors. This has prompted Quebec to renew its calls for her resignation.
The controversy stems from a letter Elghawaby sent to post-secondary institutions in Canada two weeks ago. Dated August 30, the letter, whose contents were first revealed by Le Journal de Montréal on Friday, aimed to set the stage for students' return to campuses in the wake of the pro-Palestinian protests that marked the end of the last academic term.
In her letter, Elghawaby lays out five recommendations, including increasing the representation of Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab professors, echoing a proposal put forward in 2023 by retired judge Michael MacDonald in a report written for the Metropolitan University of Toronto. MacDonald's report recommends that institutions utilize available mechanisms to increase diversity within their full-time faculty to better reflect the student body, including increased representation of Muslim, Palestinian, and Arab faculty members.
This suggestion, however, has irked members of the Legault government, starting with the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, who took to social media on Friday to express her outrage. “Amira Elghawaby needs to mind her own business,” Déry said in a post shared on both X and Facebook. “The mere suggestion of hiring professors based on religion goes against the principles of secularism, but also the criteria related to excellence in our institutions,” she asserted.
According to Minister Déry, Elghawaby has insulted Quebecers several times in the past. “She has no legitimacy to tell our colleges and universities what to do,” Déry declared, reiterating her call for the representative’s resignation.
The Minister is also concerned in her message that CEGEPs and universities have become a breeding ground for a resurgence of anti-Semitism. “I will spare no effort to ensure that our institutions do everything in their power to restore a healthy and safe environment for all students and to combat bullying and hatred,” Déry promised, who had already pledged to do everything in her power to restore calm on campuses after a tumultuous spring.
This is not the first time that Canada’s special representative against Islamophobia has sparked controversy. After her appointment in January 2023, Elghawaby had to defend a column she wrote in 2019, in which she wrote that Quebecers appeared to be influenced by an anti-Muslim sentiment. The Legault government, in particular, had then called for her resignation, but to no avail. Elghawaby did apologize, however, in the wake of this affair, which had embarrassed Justin Trudeau's Liberals.
From Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, where he was holding a press conference on the funding of the Lightspeed satellite network jointly with Quebec Premier François Legault, Trudeau stated that “obviously, each university will make its own choices”.
He explained that Elghawaby is “someone who does independent work, who makes recommendations, and above all, who tries to encourage dialogue between different groups”. “I think we’re experiencing [an] increase in tension. As Canadians, we must and can have all sorts of conversations that will bring us closer together,” Trudeau added.
By his side, Legault said he found Elghawaby’s intrusion into the areas of Quebec’s jurisdiction and its CEGEPs and universities “totally unacceptable”. “I find it unacceptable that someone would come and suggest favoring a religious group when we’re in a secular state,” Legault declared.
Canadian Heritage indicated on Friday that Elghawaby was unavailable to answer questions from reporters.
The leader of the Bloc Québécois, Yves-François Blanchet, is calling for the outright abolition of the position of Canada's special representative for combating Islamophobia. “It’s a tool for electoral solicitation that divides and pits people against the very calm, important, and often French-speaking Muslim community of Quebec – they’re 350,000 – and who are harmoniously integrated,” Blanchet wrote on X.
In turn, Parti Québécois MP Pascal Paradis supports Minister Déry’s demand for Amira Elghawaby’s resignation. He also calls for the abolition of the position. “Amira Elghawaby has no authority to speak out about encampments or demonstrations in Quebec,” he writes. “Quebec is a secular state. Recruitment of professors must be based on competence, not religion.”
Elghawaby’s letter, however, was not solely focused on increasing diversity within university faculty. In a statement on her website, she explains that “recent events on campus have created a volatile situation that calls for a serious, nuanced response.” She adds that “since October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza has cost the lives of more than 40,000 Palestinians and 1,200 Israelis. In recent months, pro-Palestinian demonstrations and encampments have multiplied across Canada, particularly on campuses.”
In response to this tension, Elghawaby’s letter also calls on universities to create “safe spaces” for students and to ensure that all voices are heard. She advocates for the implementation of “diversity and inclusion initiatives” to help students understand the conflict.
While Elghawaby’s letter has stirred controversy in Quebec, it has received support from some university groups. The Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d’université (FQPPU), a union representing university professors in Quebec, stated that “we were particularly shocked by how certain institutions, notably Laval University and McGill University, managed the situation of the encampments.” However, the union did not consider Elghawaby’s recommendations to be scandalous, as Quebec universities already have their own policies on diversity.
The FP-CSN, which represents several higher education unions, including those of professors and teachers at UQAM and UQO, declined to comment on the issue. The Fédération des cégeps, an association of CEGEP (junior college) institutions, also declined an interview request from La Presse.
This latest controversy has raised questions about the role of the special representative for combating Islamophobia and the limits of her mandate. It remains to be seen whether Elghawaby will resign or if the federal government will stand by its appointment.
