A former federal appointee tasked with combating Islamophobia provided research and assistance to Ontario Crown prosecutors handling criminal cases, according to newly released access to information records.Amira Elghawaby, a former Toronto Star columnist appointed as Canada's Special Representative on Combating Islamophobia, was contacted by prosecutors in Toronto seeking statistics, legal references and assistance involving criminal proceedings.Blacklock's Reporter said the correspondence raises questions about the involvement of a political appointee in criminal prosecutions at a time when Attorney General Sean Fraser has emphasized the need to keep prosecutorial decisions independent of government influence.Records obtained through access to information requests show the Toronto Central Crown Attorney's Office contacted Elghawaby after hours in 2026 concerning a criminal case involving assault and breach of probation.The prosecutor sought information to support arguments at a sentencing hearing, despite acknowledging the accused had not been convicted of a hate crime.“I recently prosecuted a hate crime involving Islamophobia,” the prosecutor wrote.“Given the spike of hate crimes we are seeing today including Islamophobia, I am hoping you can provide me with statistics which would be helpful for the sentencing hearing as well as a community impact statement.”The prosecutor also indicated Elghawaby had previously assisted another Crown lawyer with a similar request.“I understand you assisted my colleague with a community impact statement for his case,” the email stated.Numerous pages of the disclosed correspondence were redacted, including the names of two Crown prosecutors who had contacted Elghawaby about unrelated cases.Elghawaby responded to the request and directed departmental staff to provide assistance.“We are sad to hear about the hate crime you are working on and hope the case is resolved in a way that satisfies your client,” she wrote.Records show Canadian Heritage employees subsequently gathered statistics and research materials for use at a January 30, 2026 sentencing hearing.The Crown Attorney's Office later sought clarification about one of the statistics provided by the department.“Can you point me to where you received this information: ‘Muslims are the most frequently targeted religious group in prosecuted hate crime cases,’” the prosecutor asked.“I tried to look for this information in the materials you sent me but I was unable to locate this statistic.”.Elghawaby replied that the information appeared in a federal Justice Department publication.“You’d find that referenced on page 25 of the Justice Canada case law review that I will reattach here as a pdf,” she wrote.The document was titled Hate As An Aggravating Factor At Sentencing: A Review Of The Case Law From 2007-2020.Elghawaby also suggested the prosecutor contact the National Council of Canadian Muslims for assistance preparing a community impact statement.“As for assistance on the community impact statement, the National Council of Canadian Muslims would be best positioned to help on that,” she wrote.She signed the correspondence, “Warmly, Amira.”The documents indicate Elghawaby and Canadian Heritage staff supplied research and referrals to prosecutors. They do not establish that she directed charging decisions or determined the outcome of any prosecution.Neither the Toronto Crown Attorney's Office nor the Department of Canadian Heritage provided comment when approached about the correspondence, according to the original report.The disclosures come as Fraser has repeatedly defended the principle that prosecutors must operate independently of political authorities.Federal prosecutors must “make a decision separate and apart from the political arm of government,” Fraser has said.Speaking in the House of Commons on October 7, Fraser maintained that the government respects the independence of the justice system.“As was the case under the previous Conservative government, there is respect on this side of the House for the independence of the legal system including the independent public prosecutor,” Fraser told MPs.“We are going to let them do their job.”The records do not indicate whether the assistance provided by Elghawaby or Canadian Heritage staff influenced the sentencing decision in the Toronto case.
