Canada's whole of government anit-Islamophobia law may have consequences for investment in Canada,and have extra-territorial effect

by Ganesh Sahathevan 

Liberal MP Iqra Khalid on Parliament Hill February 3, 2016 in Ottawa. Ms. Khalid said her motion, M-103, does not give one religion or community special privileges, or restrict free speech.
(Dave Chan For The Globe and Mail)

As reported by Al-Jazeera:

Canadian politicians have passed a motion that condemns Islamophobia and requests that the government recognise the need to "quell the public climate of fear and hate". 

The non-binding motion, which condemns "Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination", passed on Thursday among a divided parliament.

It asks a parliamentary committee to launch a study on how the government could address the issue, with recommendations due in mid-November.   

The study should look at how to "develop a whole-of-government approach to reducing or eliminating systemic racism and religious discrimination, including Islamophobia," the motion says.  

Islamophobia, as defined, means an undefined "irrational fear" of Islam. While normally thought of as acts of non-Muslims towards Muslims, it should arguably include , for example, the fear of Shias that Sunnis have. This is quite evident in Malaysia, where the Malaysian Government has strict policies against Shia activities. 

The Malaysian Government is also a big investor in Canada, via its wholly-owned national oil company, Petronas: 

Petronas Eyes New Island for $27 Billion Canada LNG Plan

Profits from the project will flow to the Malaysian Government to finance its activities, including those against its Shia population.

A  whole of government anit-Islamophobia law cannot simply ignore these facts.

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