In two reports on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Canada, the Liberal Party and NDP Lawmakers on the House of Commons Judiciary Committee said Ottawa should take steps to keep student movement encampments off university grounds, criminalize the display of terrorist emblems and recognize anti-Palestinian discrimination as a unique form of hatred. He said that measures should be taken.
The antisemitism report’s first recommendations said the government should work with states and territories to ensure universities “do not allow encampments” and “protests involving hate speech or speech that incites and legitimizes The government should decide what the rules for activities and demonstrations will be. Violence will not be tolerated. ”
It also called on the government to ban the display of symbols associated with terrorist organizations through criminal law.
In its second report focused on Islamophobia, the commission said the government should “formally recognize discrimination against Palestinians as a distinct group” and invest in research to better understand it. said.
The report also calls on Ottawa to work with provinces and territories to support “freedom of expression, academic freedom,” the safety and well-being of all students, staff, faculty and staff, and to work with “Arab and Muslim “Increase the representation of Palestinian and Arab faculty and staff.” . ”
Together, the two reports make 34 recommendations, drafted by the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights after hearing input from Jewish and Muslim advocacy groups, university students, administrators and academics. created.
The committee started its work Research on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia last springseveral months after the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas erupted. The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, resulting in deaths. Over 1,200 people And I saw 250 people taken hostage.
After Israel launched a military operation in Gaza in response, pro-Palestinian protest camps appeared on campuses across the country. The operation has now lasted nearly 14 months, leaving more than 44,000 people dead and most of the enclave’s population evacuated.
The committee heard explanations about art from university students. A project showcasing the Nazi swastika was on display for several days at the University of Alberta.. They heard from Muslim advocacy groups: In the last months of 2023, reports of Islamophobic incidents at legal clinics increased by 1,300 percent.
The commission called on the federal government to consider creating a new “intimidation” offense in the Criminal Code to “more clearly and directly protect access to community buildings.”
It also calls on the federal government to “provide additional resources to establish and maintain specialized police hate crime units across the country.”
Conservative, bloc members disagree with the majority.
Both Conservative and Bloc Quebecois members of the committee wrote opposing opinions to each report.
In their opposition report, the Conservatives argued that the Liberals and NDP have left Canada “more divided and more dangerous than ever before.”
They accused the government of sending “contradictory messages”, accusing it of “supporting Israel within the Jewish community while making contradictory statements to pro-Palestinian groups”.
Conservative MPs said they agreed with most of the recommendations in the anti-Semitism report, but urged the federal government to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in federally funded post-secondary institutions. asked the government. They noted that some Jewish witnesses claim these programs fail to hold space for Jewish students.
In its report on Islamophobia, conservatives opposed calls for separate recognition of anti-Palestinian racism. “We first need to fully understand what we are doing [anti-Palestinian racism] “[t]o ensure that it is consistent with and involves other forms of discrimination recognized under Canadian law,” they wrote.
Bloc MPs objected to the recommendations in both reports, which they considered a violation of Quebec’s jurisdiction.
“It is inconceivable that universities in Quebec and Canada would have quotas for Muslim, Palestinian or Arab professors, and that Quebec would consider that professors would be appointed on the basis of religion or ethnicity rather than knowledge or ability. ” Bloc MPs wrote a dissent to the Islamophobia report.
The bloc also rejected many of the anti-Semitism report’s recommendations, including interventions to strengthen campus safety, again citing state jurisdiction.
Justice Minister Arif Virani’s office told CBC News that the minister is “carefully considering the findings and recommendations of the Judiciary Committee that are relevant to his portfolio. Our government, as required by the Standing Orders, We will respond to the committee’s report accordingly.”
