Canadian journalist and author Christine Douglass-Williams spoke to participants in a May 29 Middle East Forum webinar (video) about the submissive response to Islamism of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ruling Liberal Party since 2015.
Douglass-Williams gave a detailed overview of ways in which Trudeau has created “fertile ground for the expansion of Islamism.”
“Islamophobia”
Prime Minister Trudeau and the ruling Liberal Party have sought to combat free speech about Islam under the guise of combatting “Islamophobia.”
- In 2017, Canada’s House of Common passed motion M-103 calling on the government to combat “Islamophobia.” Although-non-binding, M-103 “has paramount influence in terms of Liberal government policy backed up by a $23 million funding package to execute.”
- Two NGOs with past links to the Palestinian Islamist terrorist organization Hamas, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) and the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (IRFAN), have been “working with the Trudeau government on execution of M-103.”
- Under pressure from NCCM, IRFAN, and other groups claiming to represent Canadian Muslims, “the Trudeau government has removed all mention of Sunni and Shi’a extremism from Public Safety Canada reports on terrorism threats.”
- Another area where the impact of M-103 is being felt is the recent push by Islamist groups for mosques across Canada to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer on outside loudspeakers, often in violation of municipal noise ordinances. Local political leaders in many areas have caved to this pressure for fear of appearing Islamophobic.
Christine Douglass-Williams |
Immigration
Several troubling developments have taken place with regard to immigration policy, especially under the direction of then-Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (2017-2019) Ahmed Hussen:
- In 2018, Canada signed of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, a non-binding agreement that conservatives complain will inform the interpretation of domestic law by Canadian judges.
- In keeping with the UN migration pact, the Trudeau government has done little to stem the flow of illegal migrants from the U.S. into Canada. In the last few years, an estimated 60,000 have entered the country by way of the unofficial Roxham Road border crossing alone, which connects upstate New York to Quebec. “Nobody knows where these people come from.”
- In 2017, Canada repealed a statute that strips dual citizens of their Canadian citizenship if convicted of terrorism, treason or espionage. “Hussen justified his decision, declaring that, ‘A Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian’,” said Douglass-Williams.
- The Trudeau government has ramped up use of a special visa program that allows the government to secretly admit foreign nationals who would otherwise be barred from entering Canada by citing “national interest” concerns. Despite considerable outcry, the Trudeau government “would not say how many of these special visas were actually issued, nor would it say what countries the recipients are coming from,” said Douglass-Williams. One high-profile figure known to have been admitted under the program is retired Egyptian Brig.-Gen. Khaled Saber Abdelhamed Zahw.
Terrorism
- The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) acknowledges that there are “dozens of known jihadis” who attended terrorist training camps in Syria and Iraq, returned to Canada, and now freely walk the streets. “Authorities won’t charge them. One wonders why?”
- Ali Kourani, an operative of Hezbollah’s external operations arm, known as Unit 910, was arrested by the United States in 2017 and revealed under interrogation that the unit was “even more active in Canada than in the United States” and disclosed the names of numerous Canadian contacts. However, according to Douglass-Williams there appears to have been “no significant follow up” about the matter from Canadian authorities.
Iran
- After coming to power in 2015, Trudeau planned to reestablish diplomatic relations with Iran, but abandoned the idea because of the public outcry.
- The Trudeau government has refused to follow the lead of the U.S. and designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Israel
- Trudeau abandoned Canada’s long-standing policy of voting against anti-Israel resolutions at the UN and now “sides with the enemies of Israel,” said Douglass-Williams.
“Don’t underestimate what one voice can do.”
Asked what Canadians can do to put a stop to Trudeau’s dangerous accommodation of Islamists, Douglass-Williams emphasized the importance of speaking out. “Don’t underestimate what one voice can do.”
Ultimately, however, stopping the “tremendous advance of Islamism” in Canada will require that people “get involved in the democratic process and be responsible when it comes to the election of who is governing the country.”
