Manitoba aims to address Islamophobia in public school curriculum
The Manitoba government has formed a working group to tackle Islamophobia in the province’s kindergarten to Grade 12 education system.
The working group will focus on building awareness of Islamophobia and its impacts on students and staff, developing training, professional opportunities and resources for educators, and providing input to Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning regarding anti-racism and anti-oppression policy initiatives.
The working group will include members from the department, faith leaders, community advocacy groups and educators.
Data collected by the National Council of Canadian Muslims shows that incidents of Islamophobia have increased in schools over the last year.
A 2023 survey found that only 46 per cent of non-Muslim Canadians describe themselves as allies of the Muslim community, and the Canadian Human Rights Commission said it’s “deeply concerned by the dramatic rise in Islamophobia in Canada” over the 12 months.
Winnipeg police are currently investigating multiple incidents of harassment and possible hate crimes against mosques and Muslim-owned businesses in the city, including threatening phone calls and graffiti.
Anti-Muslim hate has resulted in violent incidents across Canada.
In January 2017, six Muslims were killed during a shooting at a mosque in Quebec and in 2021, four members of a Muslim family were murdered by a politically motivated attacker in London, Ont.
His actions were labelled as terrorism during his subsequent trial.
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