Madam Chair, thank you.
I obviously wholeheartedly support my colleague Mr. Housefather's motion. While he is true in all aspects of his remarks, I would add one important caveat, in that there has been a tremendous demonstration of leadership on the part of Anthony Housefather on behalf of his community in the face of some of the most vile hate that I have ever seen, certainly in my lifetime, in a way that I hope that his community will take some hope and inspiration from.
I would just add that in Toronto, my hometown, the police chief there, Chief Demkiw, just reported 48 hours ago that Toronto has seen a 93% increase in the number of reported hate crimes since October 7, 2023, and that compounds the ongoing rising tide of anti-Semitism, which I think parliamentarians, regardless of partisan stripe, have an obligation to deal head-on with.
I would also say that the anecdotes that Mr. Housefather referred to are the same stories that I hear from the community that I represent in Eglinton—Lawrence. The fear, the profound sense of anxiety and, most of all, the deep sense of abandonment that the Jewish community is feeling not only in Canada but around the world in the face of this hate should be a red flag and should sound the alarm for all of us.
There are many things that we need to do in order to push back against this, but I think that having a study that examines carefully some of the issues that Mr. Housefather has already highlighted is one way in which I believe this committee can contribute, and if we don't take this opportunity, I think it will see us take more steps backwards as a democracy.
I certainly hope that all members of this committee will see the value in putting some energy into this report so that we can come together to stem this trend and to reverse it and to continue to see Jewish Canadians and all Canadians live in a society that is free from hate.
Thank you.