Thobani 's academic and activist work has garnered both support and backlash . Her 1993 appointment to the office of NAC president outraged some Canadians . Notably , on 23 April 1993 , Tory MP John Alexander Frances MacDougall ( Timiskaming ) questioned Thobani 's citizenship status in the House of Commons of Canada — referring to her as an " illegal immigrant . " His comments sparked outrage . Acting NAC President , Judy Rebick , labelled MacDougall 's line of questioning " irresponsible and reprehensible , " as well as " sexist and racist . " However , MacDougall 's concerns did resonate with some Canadians . For instance , some white Canadian women viewed Thobani 's NAC appointment as divisive . One particular woman — identifying herself as a fifth-generation white Canadian — wrote to the Toronto Star in order to express her doubts about Thobani 's ability to represent " women whose forebears built this country . " Thobani , herself , responded to MacDougall 's speech — ultimately perceiving it as " an attack on all immigrants — that our presence is not valued here . " On 1 October 2001 , Thobani gave a speech at the " Women 's Resistance : From Victimization to Criminalization " conference concerning the September 11 attacks . This speech — which rejected an ahistorical framing of the recent attacks — launched a firestorm of controversy . In it , she stated that : " U.S. foreign policy is soaked in blood . And other countries of the West including " shamefully " Canada , can not line up fast enough behind it . All want to sign up now as Americans and I think it is the responsibility of the women 's movement in this country to stop that , to fight against it . " Many Canadians regarded Thobani 's speech as inflammatory , " anti-American , " and too soon after such a great tragedy . As a result , she was accused by an anonymous resident of a criminal hate crime , an allegation investigated by the police . RCMP Corporal Michael Labossiere observed that " Normally , people think it 's a white supremist or Caucasians , promoting hate against visible minorities … We want to get the message out that it 's wrong , all around . " Yet , others sympathized with Thobani 's plight , viewing it as a " McCarthy-style witch-hunt . " For instance , Murray Mollard — lawyer and executive director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association — reflected that " We need to have an open debate about our response to Sept. 11 . " He did not think that freedom of speech and public academic dissent should be curtailed
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Sunera Thobani