Justice Committee on May 23rd, 2024

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

I call the meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 105 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on March 21, 2024, the committee is commencing its study on anti-Semitism.

Before we begin, I'd like to remind all members and other meeting participants in the room of the following important preventative measures.

To prevent disruptive and potentially harmful audio feedback incidents that can cause injuries, all in-person participants are reminded to keep their earpieces away from all microphones at all times.

As indicated in the communiqué from the Speaker to all members on Monday, April 29, the following measures have been taken to help prevent audio feedback incidents. All earpieces have been replaced by a model that greatly reduces the probability of audio feedback. The new earpieces are black in colour, whereas the former earpieces were grey. Please only use a black, approved earpiece. By default, all unused earpieces will be unplugged at the start of the meeting. When you're not using your earpiece, please place it face down on the middle of the sticker for this purpose that you will find on the table. Please consult the cards on the table for guidelines.

These measures are in place so that we can conduct our business without interruption and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including the interpreters. Thank you all for your co-operation.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format.

In accordance with the committee's routine motion concerning connection tests for witnesses, because we have witnesses today appearing in person and by video conference, I am informing the committee that I've been informed that all witnesses have completed the required connection tests in advance of the meeting.

For the benefit of the members and the witnesses, please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking.

Before we begin our study, I have one quick business note. The clerk has circulated the budget for the study in the amount of $25,250, and I would seek approval from the committee.

[Marilyn Gladu, Conservative, Sarnia—Lambton, ON]

I move to approve.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Thank you very much, Madam Gladu.

Are all in favour?

(Motion agreed to)

Thank you very much.

We will now continue. I will introduce our witnesses today.

For our first panel, we have Ms. Deborah Lyons, special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism. From B'nai Brith Canada, we have Richard Robertson, director, research and advocacy. From the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, we have Richard Marceau, vice-president, external affairs and general counsel. From the Simon Wiesenthal Center Canada, we have Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, senior director, policy and advocacy, who is appearing by video conference.

Thank you very much, and welcome to you all.

To our esteemed witnesses in attendance, you may speak in French or English, as you wish.

You have five minutes each.

You each have five minutes for your opening remarks, after which we will proceed with the rounds of questions. I will ask Ms. Lyons to please commence her five minutes.

Thank you very much.

[Deborah Lyons, Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance & Combatting Antisemitism, As an Individual]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the committee for your attention to this important subject.

Thank you for this opportunity to examine a topic that might be one of the most important issues our country is facing right now.

I also thank you for the opportunity to share a panel with respected colleagues. It is an honour to work closely with them to fight for a better Canada.

As everyone in this room knows, anti-Semitism is a non-partisan issue that impacts all of us, whether Jewish or non-Jewish Canadians. It is well known that anti-Semitism erodes democracy and, as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has recently concluded, it is a clear threat to national and international security.

My mandate, as many of you know, is to combat anti-Semitism and preserve Holocaust remembrance. It is both a domestic and an international mandate. My mandate does not—

[Rhéal Fortin, Bloc, Rivière-du-Nord, QC]

I'm sorry to interrupt, Ms. Lyons.

Madam Chair, the interpretation isn't working. The information should be validated. I didn't want to interrupt the witness unnecessarily, but what she is saying is important and I would like everyone to hear it.

Is it possible to check to see what the problem is with the interpretation?

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Yes, we will check.

I am told that the interpretation is working now.

Ms. Lyons, we will not deduct any of that time. Please rest assured. Feel free to continue wherever you feel you need to.

If you feel you need to restart, please go ahead.

[Deborah Lyons]

Thank you. I think it would be best if I restart, Madam Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Absolutely. We will restart the clock.

I neglected to say this, but just so everybody realizes, I will raise this when we're at 30 seconds, and this when the time is up. I'll be a bit lenient if it's a couple of seconds. Otherwise, if I interrupt, don't take it personally. It's sort of the chair's job.

Thank you.

[Deborah Lyons]

Once again, thank you, Madam Chair and committee, for your attention this morning.

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss a topic that in my opinion is one of the most important issues our country is facing.

I thank you for the opportunity to share a panel with respected colleagues. It is an honour to work closely with them to fight for a better Canada.

As everyone in this room knows, anti-Semitism should be a non-partisan issue that impacts us all, whether Jewish or non-Jewish Canadians. It is well known that anti-Semitism erodes democracy, and as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, has recently concluded, it is a clear threat to national and international security.

My mandate is to combat anti-Semitism and preserve Holocaust remembrance. It is both a domestic and an international mandate. It does not have a geopolitical focus.

Madam Chair, there is so much hard work in front of us to be done on a wide range of issues, but we are here today to focus on university campuses. It is there, at our centres of learning, our sources of new knowledge and civil discourse, that I felt the greatest concern as I travelled across Canada.

Campuses cannot be considered places of learning or bastions of free expression as long as any students and faculties are not safe. Today, Jewish students and faculties are experiencing targeting, intimidation and anti-Jewish hate. Jewish students, particularly those who self-identify as Zionists, as I do, are facing a tsunami of anti-Semitism.

Let me quote here the Prime Minister's recent remarks. He said, “In a country like Canada, it should be and it must be safe to declare oneself a Zionist. Jewish or not, Zionism is not a dirty word or something anyone should be targeted for agreeing with”.

I have heard from students, faculty and staff about serious issues as I travelled across Canada, ranging from the glorification of Hamas, a known terrorist group, and professors singling out Jewish students in classes and at protests, to Jewish students being harassed and physical threats. There were chants that all Zionists are racists or perverts, “go back to Europe” and “long live October 7”, as well as outside agitators setting up camp on university property and blocking freedom of movement and the ability to learn.

Hate speech and workplace harassment are not consistent with free expression or academic freedom. Worse still is hearing that, when these issues are brought to the attention of university administrations, responses are frequently delayed or non-existent. Codes of conduct at most of our universities exist but are not being implemented.

Capitulation to those engaging in hate-filled activities corrodes the very values on which institutions of higher education are built and where all students must be able to learn without fear.

Since October 16, my office has met with Jewish communities across Canada—with Hillels, with Jewish students, with faculty, university presidents and administrations, and with provincial ministers of advanced education, who have direct responsibilities for universities. We will continue to work with all partners over the coming summer months to ensure a healthy campus environment for the return in September.

Based on these meetings, let me close with a few recommendations. First, anti-Semitism training is badly needed. This training should be tailored to university administrations, legal counsels and, most particularly, heads of EDI or DEI offices, security personnel and student-life professionals. Clearly defining anti-Semitism and understanding its many manifestations are crucial in combatting it.

We must also assist and encourage—second recommendation—post-secondary institutions and their leadership to implement their own policies. What we have seen is a reluctance to implement their own codes of conduct even when they relate to safety issues. The tools exist, and post-secondary institutions have a duty to act.

In closing, Madam Chair, when our Jewish citizens are targeted, it threatens the democratic ideals of equality and justice for all Canadians. We pride ourselves on being a diverse and inclusive multicultural society. In this moment, we are being put to the test. It is not an overreach to say that our shared humanity is at stake.

Thank you. I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Robertson.

[Richard Robertson, Director, Research and Advocacy, B’nai Brith Canada]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I am here on behalf of B'nai Brith Canada. B'nai Brith is Canada's oldest human rights organization and the voice of Canada's grassroots Jewish community. Our organization, which was established in 1875, is dedicated to eradicating racism, anti-Semitism and hatred in all its forms, as well as championing the rights of the marginalized.

B'nai Brith's submission to this honourable committee comes at a time when Canada's Jewish community is in crisis. In 2023, there was an alarming rise in anti-Semitism across Canada. B'nai Brith's annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents recorded an over 109.1% increase in anti-Semitism in comparison to the previous year. Our audit also noted that campuses across the country are increasingly becoming the setting for anti-Semitic acts. The situation for Jewish Canadian post-secondary students has become untenable.

The purpose of B'nai Brith's submission is to aid the committee in ensuring that its report contains recommendations that can be utilized by the federal government to effectively respond to the pressing needs of the nation's Jewish post-secondary students. It is essential that Canadian leaders work to ensure the continued safety and well-being of Canada's Jewish post-secondary students. For our democracy to continue to thrive, our campuses must remain environments conducive of the academic success of all our nation's students.

Members of this esteemed committee have the opportunity to contribute to the fight against anti-Semitism and to preserve the sanctity of Canada's post-secondary campuses by endorsing the following recommendations in their forthcoming report.

Our first recommendation is that the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry work with Canada's federal research funding agencies to amend their funding agreements with institutions to include as a component of the agreements a provision that all activities funded by the agencies are conducted in consultation with the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance's definition of anti-Semitism as well as its illustrative examples.

The federal government adopted the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism in 2019. In 2021, the federal government pledged to continue to enhance the adoption and implementation of IHRA's working definition of anti-Semitism and to encourage mainstreaming and implementation of the IHRA definition to dovetail with the Canadian adoption of the IHRA definition in June of 2019 as part of Canada's federal anti-racism strategy. B'nai Brith Canada's recommendation would bring the agreement between Canada's federal research funding agencies and post-secondary institutions in line with these commitments.

The funding agreements utilized by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada already contain the requirement that the institution receiving funding shall commit to develop and implement effective and equitable policies. It is the submission of B'nai Brith Canada that a provision requiring consultation with the IHRA definition and its illustrative examples is in the spirt of the existing agreements and with the guiding principles enumerated by the federal government in its anti-racism strategy.

It is B'nai Brith's further submission that such a provision will only serve an ameliorative purpose and ensure that Canada's inter-agency research funding is in line with its anti-racism strategy.

Our second recommendation is that the federal government include funding in its 2025 budget to develop a five-year program to enhance the IHRA literacy of post-secondary students. The federal government in its 2024 statement on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting anti-Semitism indicated that it strongly supports and encourages the wide adoption and implementation of the IHRA's non-legally binding working definition on anti-Semitism and illustrative examples.

It is the submission of B'nai Brith that efforts to ensure the wide application of the IHRA definition and its illustrative examples requires the federal government to invest in ensuring Canada's future leaders are familiar with the nuances of the definition and how its examples can function as a tool and guide.

B'nai Brith, as a partner in the Department of Canadian Heritage's community support, multiculturalism and anti-racism initiatives, or CSMARI, funding, held a round table discussion with grassroots community leaders across the country. A recurring theme in the feedback was the need for greater understanding of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism. This mirrors comments B'nai Brith has received from Jewish students across the country.

The five-year program could be administered by the Department of Canadian Heritage, could utilize the resources of our special envoy's handbook and could be in the best interest of all Canadians.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Marceau, go ahead, please.

[Richard Marceau, Vice-President, External Affairs and General Counsel, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I am here on behalf of CIJA, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

I'll be frank and direct: There is a crisis of antisemitism in Canada.

The Prime Minister called the recent rise of anti-Semitism “terrifying”, and he's right.

Since October 7, we've seen in Toronto a 93% rise in hate crimes, the majority of which are directed at the Jewish community. In Vancouver, reports of anti-Semitism rose by 62% in 2023, and 70% of those occurred after October 7.

In Ottawa, the number of hate-related crimes and incidents rose in 2023 by 20%. In Ottawa, 1.4% of the population is Jewish, and Jews were the target of 27% of those crimes and incidents.

In Montreal, shots were fired at Jewish schools. Molotov cocktails were thrown at Montreal synagogues and community centres.

Bomb threats target Jewish schools in Toronto. Synagogues are picketed. Demonstrations take place around Jewish neighbourhoods for the sole purpose of intimidating their residents. Jewish-owned businesses are vandalized.

In our streets and on our campuses, we hear the apology of terrorism and violence.

On Parliament Hill, the very heart of Canadian democracy, on April 18, we heard praises for October 7, such as “Our resistance attacks are proof that we are almost free,” and “Oct. 7 is proof that we are almost free. Long live Oct. 7, long live the resistance, long live the intefadeh, long live every form of resistance.”

This was on Parliament Hill.

On October 28, in Montreal, a controversial imam was given the microphone. In Arabic, he declared: “Allah, take care of these Zionist aggressors. Allah, deal with the enemies of the people of Gaza. Allah, identify them all, then exterminate them. And spare none of them.”

Last week, we learned that he would not be charged.

Still in Montreal, yells of “death to the Jews” were heard in front of a Jewish school. It got so bad, the authorities were so passive, that the only solution the community found was to go to court to get injunctions to protect its institution. Let that sink in. An extraordinary recourse, those injunctions were granted and then extended and extended again.

The situation on university campuses is very bad. You heard certain things last week. You will hear more from the next group of witnesses. I will simply say the following.

The situation is so bad on campus that CIJA's legal task force is supporting a student at Toronto Metropolitan University for fostering a poisoned anti-Semitic environment. We are suing TMU. TMU breached its contract with her, breached its duties of care to her and discriminated against her by failing to apply its own policies and procedures explicitly designed to protect students like her from anti-Semitic environments.

We are putting universities on notice. There are and will be consequences for allowing anti-Semitism to take root on campus.

I could tell you about the situation in unions. I could tell you about the situation in the country's schools, where we have often had to protect students.

Since I don't have much time though, I will simply make eight recommendations.

One, political leaders must lead. That means there are laws on the books to deal with the current situation, but those are not applied. The justice minister must give clear direction that laws already on the books must be applied. Better training for courts, for police and legal systems is desperately needed.

Secondly, ban the Vancouver-based Samidoun group for its direct and open links with terrorist groups.

Three, create safe access legislation, also known as bubbles legislation. There is a role for Ottawa to play here.

Fourth, we have to combat online hate. That is something we will be discussing often.

Five, introduce the new anti-racism strategy and ensure no government funding goes to those promoting or platforming hate. In other words, no more Laith Marouf.

Sixth, ban the display of symbols of terrorist organizations that are listed under Canadian law.

Seven, list the IRGC as a terrorist organization. You voted twice for this. Now it's time to do it.

Eighth, improve the collection of data related to all of this.

I'll finish with this, Madam Chair. There's a crisis of anti-Semitism in this country. Words are not enough. We need action from you now.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Thank you very much.

Ms. Kirzner‑Roberts, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, Senior Director, Policy and Advocacy, Simon Wiesenthal Center Canada]

Thank you so much, Madam Chair.

My name is Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, and I'm the senior director of policy and advocacy at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, based in Toronto.

I feel very privileged to be here today, to have the opportunity to speak to this room of esteemed lawmakers, alongside some truly fantastic community advocates like Mr. Marceau, Mr. Robertson and Special Envoy Lyons. Thank you for having me.

Since October 7, we have seen in our country an explosion of anti-Semitic hate, the likes of which we have not seen before. At ground zero of this problem are our nation's universities, which have served as fertile grounds for the mobilization and recruitment of anti-Semitic hate groups, where students, faculty and staff have been able to engage in the ugliest of hate speech and glorification of violence and terrorism against Jews, without any fear whatsoever of consequences.

Jewish students have increasingly found themselves targeted by abuse from their peers, singled out by their professors, subjected to harassment and discrimination, and fearful that they will be discriminated against when it comes to grading. Students in some cases no longer feel safe physically even crossing their own campuses, as they know they will have to pass by protest encampments and demonstrations, which are perpetrating hateful rhetoric.

With respect to university administrations, we have seen, unfortunately, for the most part that they have leaned into political cowardice. We have seen an abject failure to hold accountable students, faculty and staff who have perpetrated the most ugly of hatreds, who have glorified the most ugly of terrorist acts. We have seen an effect on our campuses of a failure to make the strategic decisions to ensure that campuses remain safe for Jewish students, a failure of university leadership.

This is not the first time in the long history of Jewish people that we have seen universities become a breeding ground for the vilest anti-Semitism, a breeding ground for anti-Semitic hate groups. We have seen this all before in our long history, and we know where it leads. This is why we know that the time for action is now.

Simon Wiesenthal, the namesake of my organization, is a holocaust survivor who dedicated his life to justice. He said that freedom is not a gift from heaven; it is something we need to fight for every day.

I thank you all for joining me here today as we work together to fight for freedom for all students on our campuses, including Jewish students.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Thank you very much.

We will now begin with our round of questioning.

We will start with Madam Lantsman.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you for joining us today, all of you, and for spending some time on this issue.

Ms. Lyons, I'm just going to start by asking a couple of questions with some examples that I have here.

The Canadian Foreign Service Institute either produces or shares with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development what I see here as about 80 pages of training materials on anti-racism.

I'll start specifically with Global Affairs Canada. I know that you have a long, esteemed career at foreign affairs. However, in 80 pages of anti-racism, with all of the terms you can imagine and all of the sort of myths and facts—which, frankly, in my opinion, in some cases, invert history—there is not a single mention of anti-Semitism in any of these documents.

Do you really think that the Government of Canada can combat anti-Semitism if it fails to mention it in its own anti-racism training documents?

[Deborah Lyons]

Thank you very much for that question.

Look, I think one of the things that has become obvious, particularly since October 7—frankly, I felt it was obvious before I took the job— is that there's a lot of hard work to be done everywhere in our public service—federally, provincially, municipally—in businesses, in civil society and most certainly in the universities, as we've heard this morning and as you heard previously, to make sure that people understand anti-Semitism.

We need to make sure that the right training is in place and that the IHRA definition is better understood and implemented. That is exactly what we're working on doing right now, both in my office and within the Department of Canadian Heritage. In every one of the ministries, we are looking at the training that they have in place. We are working with the Canada School of Public Service on ensuring that we have those training programs.

You're quite right to point out that what we have now is sorely inadequate and has to change dramatically. I believe, sincerely, that we have the commitment of all ministers to make that happen. I can assure you we will, if we don't.

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

I'll talk about another piece.

This is a participant handbook called “Anti-Racism: Let's Talk”. I use this example because it's about 64 pages. It's still offered by Treasury Board as a training manual. This participant handbook, up until well after October 7, had no mention of anti-Semitism.

Now, it currently does have a mention of anti-Semitism—it was put in after October 7—but the definition of it is not an agreed-upon one. In fact, it's a definition provided by a fringe organization that wouldn't even be invited to a committee like this one to speak about anti-Semitism. There are changes being made, but they are the wrong changes.

In some cases, on things like the definition of racial trauma, which can be found on page 26 of this “Anti-Racism: Let's Talk”—which is not anti-racism at all—it talks about the experiences of Black people, indigenous people and people of colour. The definition just leaves out any mention of Jews, of Bosnians, of Armenians, of anybody who potentially experienced intergenerational trauma, something that the definition was probably based on when it came to fruition. Even the changes that are being made in government are the wrong changes.

Again, I ask, how on earth does a committee like this make recommendations to the Government of Canada if the Government of Canada, in fact, has a problem within that is being corrected with bigger problems?

[Deborah Lyons]

Thank you very much for the question from the esteemed member.

Again, I emphasize that we have a lot of hard work to do. We in no way have it right in terms of ensuring that the IHRA definition, which the Canadian Parliament and all parties approved and which is accepted by most of our provincial governments....

Thank you for the question because it gives me the opportunity to talk about the handbook on the IHRA definition that we hope to be releasing in June. There will be a clear explanation and interpretation of how the IHRA definition needs to be used to underpin all of our anti-Semitism training. You're quite correct to point out that, even as some of our people try to make adjustments and improvements, we are still not where we need to be. Again, there's hard work that needs to be done.

I believe the commitment is there. I know that the new anti-racism strategy 2.0 will be launched soon. We know that the government is looking at announcing their action plan combatting hate. All of these provide an opportunity for an intensive campaign, not just across the federal government but provincially and municipally, to ensure that anti-Semitism well understood.

What better time than now?

[Melissa Lantsman, Conservative, Thornhill, ON]

I want to put on record that—when this committee is making recommendations—some of the Canadian anti-racism materials that are cited as additional reading come from workbooks. One of them is entitled “Dismantling Racism”, and this is what it says. It does mention Jews, but only as a quick aside to say that Jews have opted to become white in order to benefit from white supremacy: “Becoming white involves giving up [parts] of your original culture in order to get the advantages and privileges of [belonging to a] white group.” This is the stuff that is cited by the Government of Canada in teaching people about racism. I cannot stress enough that this committee has no business making recommendations when the training in the Government of Canada is racist in itself.

[Deborah Lyons]

Madam Chair, may I respond?

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

Yes, you have 10 seconds. Go ahead.

[Deborah Lyons]

Okay. I wasn't sure if your signal was for me or for the member.

Thank you very much, again, for pointing this out. I think that there is no question that some of the material—much of the material—needs further reworking. That is what my office is going to be doing, working with the public service right across our network. I think that what—

[The Chair, Liberal, Lena Metlege Diab]

I'm sorry, Ms. Lyons. Why don't we leave the rest?