Petition “E”-411 was tabled on 26 October, 2016 with only 79 MPs in attendance and no public input or debate. The implications of the petition’s use of the term “Islamophobia”, as regards the potential for the curtailment of free speech, were not thought through. Emotional arguments ruled the day. It needs to be noted that, subsequent to the vote on “E”-411, the public did become engaged to the point that Motion M-103 met a rocky reception in Parliament during the related debates of 15/ 16 February, 2017.
