Canada’s culture minister announced last month — with no advance consultation or warning — that two offices meant to help fight racism and hatred would be shuttered.

Mere days after the Jan. 29 commemoration of the 2017 Quebec City mosque shootings, Marc Miller issued a statement announcing a new advisory council to foster social cohesion, battle bigotry and build a shared identity.

The offices of the special representative on combatting Islamophobia and the special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism have since closed.

“By deepening mutual trust, unity, respect and solidarity, we can ensure that every person feels included and valued, and that rights and equality are protected for all Canadians,” Miller said.

How do these words leap beyond paper and translate into real-world deeds? Deeds like those of Amira Elghawaby, the representative for combatting Islamophobia. In 2025 her office released a guide — believed to be the first by any national government — to help understand and fight the root causes of anti-Muslim discrimination. She was also working with her European counterparts and other groups to put into practice the aspirational language of a 2023 UNESCO report (p. 55), which said “hate speech is clearly a global phenomenon” which requires educational efforts and “significant and sustained global collaboration.” This is something........

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