NCCM welcomes Alberta PC party official’s resignation; calls for party to condemn Islamophobia

-For Immediate Release-

(Ottawa – April 24, 2015) The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a prominent civil liberties & advocacy organization, welcomes the resignation of a provincial campaign manager for the Alberta Progressive Conservative (PC) party.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Graham Fletcher, campaign manager for Edmonton PC candidate David Xiao, and a constituency president, had tweeted and posted anti-Muslim remarks.

The tweets and posts date back to the fall of 2014, when Mr. Fletcher wrote: “Anybody as fed up as I am having Muslims put their big offended foot into the middle of every damn thing out there?”

He later tweeted other offensive statements including: “You are in the wrong country if you believe what you are trying to sell. And your thinking is dangerous. It is mid-east dangerous. It has no place in Canadian thinking. What’s next — wrapping up women in headbags to conceal their humanity? Oh forgot. Too late, that has no place here either.”

The Alberta Progressive Conservatives accepted his resignation, with the following comment: “There is no place for these views in our party.”

“Mr. Fletcher’s comments on social media are completely unacceptable,” says Amira Elghawaby, human rights coordinator with the NCCM. “While he has resigned from his position, Mr. Fletcher has not apologized for the Islamophobic nature of his remarks, nor has the PC party. This is troubling.  Political parties and their officials who seek to represent Canadians have a duty to be respectful and to apologize for actions or statements that are hurtful. Propagating stereotypes and promoting anti-Muslim sentiment is an affront to Canadian values of mutual respect, tolerance and cohesion.

“It is also disconcerting that it took several months for these hateful remarks to come to public attention. We urge the Alberta PC party to publicly condemn anti-Muslim bigotry.  Xenophobic and discriminatory remarks, attitudes, or actions, must be confronted immediately,” adds Elghawaby. “

The NCCM is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit grassroots advocacy organization. It is a leading voice for Muslim civic engagement and the promotion of human rights.

CONTACT:

Amira Elghawaby, NCCM Human Rights Coordinator, 613-254-9704; 613-407-3834