August 23, 2022
Dear Minister Hussen,
The Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing civil rights and liberties. FAIR Alberta is a recently formed chapter that supports pro-human values based on seeking understanding of others’ perspectives. Our website, fairforall.org, can give you a broader sense of our identity and activities.
We are writing out of concern for statements that Laith Marouf, senior consultant for the anti-racism program, CMAC, under Minister Hussen’s portfolio, has historically made which we find to be overtly anti-semitic. We are resolutely opposed to public expressions of hate directed at any ethnic, racial, or religious group, and feel that Mr. Marouf’s expressions are inappropriate for someone working for the Canadian government. Whether personally or on behalf of FAIR, we believe that hard questions should be asked about how Mr. Marouf came to be employed or how these comments oppose the oppression of Canadians.
We acknowledge that the work CMAC endeavors to do, which is to investigate ways to elevate under-represented voices in media, is noble and worthwhile. Since there is a session in Calgary upcoming, the conflict between CMAC’s intentions and Mr. Marouf’s statements fall into our jurisdiction. It is our intention to have FAIR representation at this event in order to advocate for the pro-human message.
We respectfully request the honour of a response.
Yours sincerely,
Rob Piotrkowski
FAIR Alberta Co-leader
Lee Barber
FAIR Alberta Co-leader
