Date: March 4th, 2010 - Rabiul Awwal 18, 1431 Volume: 13 Issue: 4
Canadian Islamic Congress ~ Media Communique
March 4, 2010
CANADIAN ISLAMIC CONGRESS WARNS THAT NEW RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENT COULD UNDERMINE ORGANIZATION’S SOCIAL JUSTICE MANDATE
The Canadian Islamic Congress is shocked by the appointment of former Canadian Alliance candidate Gérard Latulippe as the new president of Rights and Democracy, replacing Rémy Beauregard who died suddenly in January amid a struggle for control of the organization.
The appointment of Latulippe, announced on Tuesday (March 2) was made by Foreign Affairs minister Lawrence Cannon.
Rights and Democracy - officially known as The International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development -- was created by Parliament in 1988. It is a tax-payer funded non-partisan organization established to operate at arm’s length from the federal government. Its international mandate is to encourage and support human rights values and to promote democratic institutions and practices around the world.
However, Mr. Latulippe has publicly expressed views contrary to the Canadian values of tolerance and inclusion, particularly with respect to Canadian Muslims and other minority communities.
CIC leaders are concerned that the appointment of someone with a known far-right track record to a highly respected human rights organization will create more instability for Canadian Muslims.
CIC President Mrs. Wahida Valiante cautioned that "Mr. Latulippe’s views on immigration, and especially regarding Canadian Muslims, call into serious question whether he is the right person to head an organization whose policies are historically based upon tolerance and openness. Partisan exclusivity or discrimination, however subtle, should not be an option."
In 2007, for example, Mr. Latulippe authored a submission to the Bouchard-Taylor Commission (investigating the issue of "reasonable accommodation" for ethnic and religious minorities in Quebec) in which he suggested that Montreal’s increasing Muslim population posed a threat both to the cultural integrity of Quebec and to Canada’s national security.
According to Mr. Latulippe, "The debate of today is not centered anymore on the protection of our language but of our culture." He also argued that geographically concentrated Muslim immigration to Montreal means "we take the unnecessary risk of generating homegrown terrorism."
Imam Dr. Zijad Delic, National Executive Director of the Canadian Islamic Congress, warned: "Statements such as these from an appointed leader of Rights and Democracy suggest that both rights and democracy are in danger of being eroded and replaced by an escalation of false fears about Islam and Muslim immigrants to Canada ... Instead, the discourse will be more about ‘us vs. them’."
CONTACTS:
Mrs. Wahida Valiante
National President of Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC)
647. 802.8024
Imam Dr. Zijad Delic
National Executive Director, Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC)
613.698.8469
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