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The vote was 109 for, zero against.
The news of the letter was first reported by the Journal de Québec. It was dated Aug. 30 and sent to institutions across the country.
Rising in the legislature, Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry read the motion, which opens by noting education is the exclusive jurisdiction of the government of Quebec.
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It adds that hiring of professors has to be based on their “excellence and competence,” and “certainly not based on their religion.”
It says the National Assembly “reiterates that hiring professors on the basis of religion is not only discriminatory but also contrary to the secularism of the state.”
It says Quebec is a secular society and this principle is entrenched in the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It says Elghawaby has made insulting remarks about the Quebec nation and described it as racist.
Finally, it states that the National Assembly reiterates a demand it made Jan. 31, 2023 that Elghawaby resign.
The motion reflects other comments Déry made last week when the issue came up.
She said Elghawaby has “insulted” Quebecers on numerous occasions.
“She has no legitimacy to tell our colleges and universities what to do,” Déry said. “We repeat: she must resign.”
In her letter, Elghawaby says that since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in October 2023, a dangerous climate has arisen on campuses.
She offered a number of suggestions to ease tensions within educational institutions: supporting freedom of expression and academic freedom; briefing campus leaders on civil liberties and Islamophobia; and hiring more professors of Muslim, Arab and Palestinian origin.
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