Hello. My name is Neil Oberman. I'm an attorney at Spiegel Sohmer in Montreal.
I did prepare a speech, but after listening to these students, all of you should understand why this is so important. I, as a frontline attorney, have had the unfortunate pleasure—and I will tell you about this unpleasure—of having to go to court to take actions to protect these people who are here today. There is a message.
Canadian and Quebec values are under attack. This serious issue in Quebec and Canada should be addressed today, without restriction and without question. Our values as Canadians and Quebeckers are at stake.
Mr. Fortin, you can see that people are here to plead their case.
As a lawyer, I've had the ability to take these cases and to try to do something. You might have known that I took injunctions against McGill to try to get rid of the encampment. I'm not going to comment on the judgment. I'm not going to tell you whether it was right or wrong. The fact that it had to be taken in itself speaks loudly to what's going on. On March 4, 2024, I had to take an injunction in order to save our community.
Now, I am no hero. These are the heroes, these people who come before you and who put their names out there. These are the people whom we want to strive to protect. However, there is a fundamental issue, ladies and gentlemen and parliamentarians.
I'm speaking to all Quebeckers. We should make changes. The law matters, but more importantly, it must be respected and enforced.
You can create all the laws you want. I'm sure you want to talk about that, and we're going to get into that, but if people don't respect the laws on the books currently, there is no value. Anti-Semitism is a sickness, and it has to be eradicated. However, what's more important is ignorance and the inability to understand things, which is also a sickness. Legislators can't legislate love, and they can't tell you how to think, but they can legislate against hate.
It's your job here today to legislate against hate. I'm not going to give you a course in law—you're the legislature—but I can tell you that every student who has come to me has said to me, “Neil, why aren't people enforcing the law?” The law of Concordia, the law of Dawson, the law of Vanier, the law of Canada and the law of Quebec—we are a country of law. The rule of law is not to be trifled with. It is the core of our identity.
I want to point out the top 10 list of the worst things—besides the things these young people have dealt with—that I, Neil Oberman, have had to deal with.
A student goes to school in the morning and gets dropped off by his mom, and the first thing that happens is a group of kids come to him and say, “Do you believe in Palestine? Are you against Israel?” He says no, and they start beating him. What does the teacher supervising the children do? They say, “Keep beating him until he says Palestine.” This is not what Quebec and Canada are about. I am concerned, and you should be concerned.
The future is not Neil Oberman; the future is Nicole and Rachel and Nati and Michael. They're the future, but when you take their futures away, you take Canada's future away. That is why I'm urging each and every one of you, when you look at what's going on, to come down to the level of the students and see what they're doing.
One of the other issues that has unfortunately been raised during what I've been doing is that people don't want to stand up. They're scared of being heard.
Do you know what I say, Madam Chair? If you do nothing, you get nothing. I choose to do something. I am here. They are here. I applaud you. I'm not here for them; I'm here for you. I can tell you this: When you go back and you deliberate on what's next for you to do, take three things into account: What does the law say, what do the students say and what does your heart say? What does your heart tell you about what we as Canadians want to be doing? Do we want to have to do this?
Do people need to hire a lawyer to go to school? It's ridiculous and unacceptable.
Personally, I protest using the law that applies to everyone. I've requested injunctions, which were rejected. However, people listened to me because they listened to the students.
We're going to bring this change because this association of students and your committee have the power—but there is no power in being quiet.
I'm going to stay within my time. I'm going to show you what the future is, ladies and gentlemen. It's a blank page. You have the opportunity, along with these people, to create a future for all of us that will be written not in blood and not in hate but in love, which you can't legislate. However, with respect, you must understand that if we don't act now, we will not be able to stop the tide of anti-Semitism. It's an illness, and it's for this parliament and our government to stop talking and start doing.
Personally, I'll be there all the way for these students.
Thank you.