Global Affairs tight-lipped on fate of Canadian men being held in Iraq

2026/08/14 Leave a comment

Not sympathetic as choices have consequences:

…Ottawa-based lawyer Nicholas Pope said he believes at least five Canadian men are being held in Iraq.

Pope said in an interview that a number of the men were recently permitted to phone family members.

He said he spoke directly with one of his detainee clients in June.

Pope said a common message emerged from these calls. “That the prison officials there, and all the officials that they’re talking to are saying, ‘We want you gone, we want Canada to take you, and we’re reluctantly putting you through the judicial system right now, only because Canada is not doing anything,’” he said.

“The big, really frustrating thing here is that we keep telling Canada this. We keep sending them letters saying Iraq wants these men gone.”

The names of the detained Canadian men are not publicly known, with the exception of Jack Letts, whose parents have waged a public campaign to urge Ottawa to help secure his release and passage to Canada.

Amnesty International has warned of serious rights violations and poor conditions in Iraq’s justice system, including overcrowded and unsanitary prisons, unfair trials and mass executions.

Pope said the detained Canadian men face serious risks in Iraq’s system.

“It’s well documented that Iraq’s judicial processes are not exactly fair, don’t have the same due process that we have in Canada,” he said.

“There’s a lot of bias against people who are perceived to have been involved with (the Islamic State) and there’s a huge risk of human rights abuses, torture to extract confessions, as well as these men receiving the death penalty.”

The Embassy of Iraq in Ottawa had no immediate response to a request from The Canadian Press for information on the status of the detained Canadians.

Matthew Behrens, co-ordinator of Stop Canadian Involvement in Torture, said in a recent media statement that Ottawa effectively holds the keys to the jail cells holding the Canadian men.

“By refusing to open those prison doors, we remain deeply complicit in their decade-long arbitrary detention,” Behrens said.

Source: Global Affairs tight-lipped on fate of Canadian men being held in Iraq

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The antisemitism report that erases a century of Jewish debate

2026/08/14 2 Comments

From the minority Independent Jewish Voices perspective:

…But beneath the report’s stark figures and shocking examples of antisemitism lies a partisan move. The report treats opposition to Zionism as evidence of antisemitism, a move that provides institutions grounds for disciplining scholars for what they teach and for policing students over how they protest. 

We write as members of the Jewish Faculty Network, a group of Jewish Canadian academics who share a commitment to social justice. This includes criticism of, and opposition to, Zionism. 

The report defines “anti-Zionism” as a movement that calls for the “erasure” or “annihilation” of Israel. This is incorrect, and it attempts to turn a legitimate political position into a synonym for hatred before a single survey question is even asked.

Anti-Zionism is a 100-year-old, well-documented current of Jewish thought that has never called for erasing or annihilating anyone. Reform Judaism’s 19th-century founders argued that Jews were a religious community, not a nation awaiting a state. A few decades later, the Jewish Labour Bund, a mass socialist movement across Eastern Europe, built a political program based on doikayt, the idea that Jewish safety comes from equal rights where Jews already live, not from a state somewhere else. Some Hasidic communities have opposed Jewish sovereignty on religious grounds for over a century. …

Yves Winter is an associate professor of political science at McGill University. Noah Brender is a faculty member in the humanities department at Dawson College. Danielle Bobker is a professor of English at Concordia University. Michael Blum is a professor in the École des arts visuels et médiatiques at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Source: The antisemitism report that erases a century of Jewish debate

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Grammond: Lutte contre le profilage racial: Passer de la parole aux actes

2026/08/14 Leave a comment

Mais oui. Similar problems date from my time in the multiculturalism programme, some 15 years ago:

Mais il faudra plus que des paroles pour rétablir la confiance des citoyens ébranlés par les gestes racistes qui seraient survenus au poste 39 de Montréal-Nord, dans l’un des quartiers les plus multiethniques de la métropole.

Des policiers auraient coupé les cheveux d’individus appréhendés pour garder leurs dreads comme un trophée, à la manière d’un « scalp ». Une équipe entière aurait tenu des propos anti-noirs, anti-arabes, ses membres s’encourageant mutuellement à commettre des abus.

En soi, ces comportements sont odieux. Ils ont mené à la dissolution de l’équipe de 16 personnes, en juin, d’ici la conclusion de l’enquête.

Mais ce qui est encore plus atterrant, c’est que la grande majorité des policiers en cause sont de jeunes agents avec quelques années d’expérience.

Cela donne l’impression que les mentalités n’évoluent pas dans la bonne direction au Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), malgré les réels efforts en matière de recrutement et de formation.

Au-delà de cette affaire accablante, les statistiques ne sont pas encourageantes. Le profilage racial perdure, selon une analyse récente réalisée par des experts de quatre universités québécoises1.

À Montréal, les personnes noires ont 3,78 fois plus de risques de se faire interpeller que les blanches, un chiffre qui s’élève à 5,18 fois pour les personnes arabes.

Certains diront que c’est parce qu’elles commettent plus d’infractions. Mais l’argument n’est pas suffisant pour justifier l’intensité du profilage dont elles font l’objet.

Voyez les chiffres : les personnes noires représentent 9,5 % de la population montréalaise, 20 % des personnes associées à une infraction criminelle… mais 25 % des interpellations. Il est aussi possible que le nombre des infractions soit plus élevé parce qu’il y a davantage d’interpellations. Difficile à dire….

Source: Lutte contre le profilage racial: Passer de la parole aux actes

But it will take more than words to restore the confidence of citizens shaken by the racist gestures that allegedly occurred at post 39 of Montreal North, in one of the most multi-ethnic neighborhoods in the metropolis.

Police officers allegedly cut the hair of apprehended individuals to keep their dreads as a trophy, like a “scalp”. An entire team would have made anti-black, anti-Arab remarks, its members encouraging each other to commit abuses.

In itself, these behaviors are odious. They led to the dissolution of the 16-person team in June, until the conclusion of the investigation.

But what is even more shocking is that the vast majority of the police officers involved are young agents with a few years of experience.

This gives the impression that mentalities are not moving in the right direction at the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), despite real efforts in terms of recruitment and training.

Beyond this overwhelming case, the statistics are not encouraging. Racial profiling persists, according to a recent analysis conducted by experts from four Quebec universities1.

In Montreal, black people are 3.78 times more likely to be arrested than white people, a figure that is 5.18 times for Arab people.

Some will say it’s because they commit more offenses. But the argument is not enough to justify the intensity of the profiling to which they are subjected.

See the numbers: black people represent 9.5% of the Montreal population, 20% of people associated with a criminal offense… but 25% of the arrests. It is also possible that the number of offences is higher because there are more arrests. Hard to say….

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

Geist: Denial, Hate, and Silence: The Three Responses to Overwhelming Evidence of Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis

2026/08/13 Leave a comment

Valid:

…The first response is denial, with some groups claiming the survey is unrepresentative, its methodology flawed, and that it conflates Jewish identity with Zionism. The objections do not withstand scrutiny. The survey’s community-recruited, non-probability approach is the standard methodology for researching discrimination against small, hard-to-reach populations. Indeed, it served as the methodology for surveys on 2SLGBTQ youth, urban Indigenous health studies, anti-Asian racism data, and trans communities. Governments have used the resulting data for policy development and few demanded probability samples before treating that research as a basis for action. Moreover, while relying on the IHRA definition is precisely what a study backed by a government that has itself adopted that definition should do, the findings do not depend on definitions. Set aside every Israel and Zionism-related item in the survey and the data still shows 56% of Jewish students witnessing discriminatory treatment of Jews as Jews, 54% witnessing intimidation or threats, 22% witnessing physical violence, and 45% regularly encountering Holocaust denial. No definition is required to classify “Hitler should have finished you off”, “the Holocaust did not really happen”, or “Jews, Jews, you cannot hide.” Critics themselves concede that the report documents “unmistakable antisemitism,” but are left to quibble at the edges by debating definitions rather than confronting what the data shows.

The second response is hate. Once again, my posts about the survey attracted replies on my social media that read like a live enactment of the report’s findings, validating a national dataset in real time. The survey found that 45% of Jewish students regularly encounter Holocaust denial or distortion; the replies included the claim that the Holocaust is “fake, just exaggerated slop to position yourselves as victims.” The survey found that more than 70% of Jewish students report harm to their mental health; the replies mocked that finding with comments about “mental illnesses suffered by Ashkenazi jews” lying “in the genes.” The survey documented students hiding their identity and considering leaving their universities; the replies suggested Jewish students “should transfer to Tel Aviv” and dismissed them as “professional victims.”

The most important response, however, was the non-response or silence from those who must act. One week after a government-backed report found that 70% of Jewish students believe their universities do not take antisemitism seriously, I could find no responses from university presidents, Universities Canada or other organizations. Political leaders have been little better: Culture Minister Marc Miller called the findings “alarming”, but a broader response or sense of urgency from governments has been missing. The Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, which serves as the government’s replacement for the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism (who commissioned the CASE report), continues to signal that it is not a serious effort to combat antisemitism. At the report’s release, Council member and former senator Marc Gold read the Minister’s statement, declined to respond to criticism of the government’s approach, and described the council’s progress as: “we’re getting to know each other and we are providing input into a work plan.” The house is on fire and they are getting to know each other.

Simply put, silence is not neutral, as it confirms students’ worst fears and risks making them even more skeptical about reporting their experiences. The NECA recommendations released alongside the report provide a ready-made starting point, beginning with enforcing the policies universities already have. With the fall term just weeks away, no university leader can claim to be unaware of what returning Jewish students face.

The report’s findings were overwhelming, and so is what the past week has revealed. The deniers cannot bring themselves to accept what the data shows, the haters keep demonstrating it, and the institutions with the power to act have said nothing at all. It is time for a fourth response: action.

Source: Denial, Hate, and Silence: The Three Responses to Overwhelming Evidence of Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis

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ICYMI – Urback: The CAF’s new public ‘prayer ban’ is not an attack on religious freedom

2026/08/11 Leave a comment

Agree:

…To be clear: This directive does not affect how members of the CAF can pray and worship on their own time. The policy also explicitly carves out exceptions for funerals, recognizing that a funeral is considered to be “family-led event that honours the family’s wishes.” It also notes that chaplains are not restricted “during private conservations (counselling), within faith-specific gatherings, or in their spiritual roles.” The new restriction is only when chaplains are speaking at public military ceremonies, where they are acting as representatives of the CAF (and thus the government), and not simply as faith leaders. 

The change is thus less an “attack on freedom of religion” of the individual than it is a move to further secularize the government. That is a good thing; religious freedom in a democracy should mean the ability to practice one’s spiritual beliefs as desired, as well as freedom from religion imposed by the government and by others. In other words, people should be able to pray and observe however they want, as long as it does not meaningfully affect others. …

Another way the CAF could have attempted to achieve religious neutrality (or greater religious neutrality) would have been to mimic what political organizations do in the U.S. Democratic and Republican conventions, for example, are opened or closed with prayers from a variety of faith leaders, including priests, imams, rabbis and so on. But this method would have inevitably left out one or more faith groups, and would also have turned public CAF ceremonies into extended prayer sessions that force members to entertain religious practice that has nothing to do with their service. Removing public religious expression is the better alternative, especially since it imposes no restriction on members’ private prayers. It is hardly the egregious affront to religious freedom that Conservatives are making it out to be, but rather, a sensible (if still a bit incoherent) step for a secular government.

Source: The CAF’s new public ‘prayer ban’ is not an attack on religious freedom

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ICYMI: Une action collective accusant l’Université McGill d’avoir toléré de l’antisémitisme autorisée

2026/08/11 Leave a comment

When institutions fail, court challenges expected:

La Cour supérieure du Québec vient de donner le feu vert à une action collective intentée contre l’Université McGill. La poursuite allègue que, depuis l’attaque du Hamas en Israël le 7 octobre 2023, les étudiants juifs y ont subi du harcèlement de toutes sortes et qu’il régnait sur son campus montréalais un climat toxique et insécurisant.

Selon la demande en justice, l’Université a failli à ses obligations de protéger ses étudiants juifs et de leur assurer un environnement propice à leur éducation. Il est donc réclamé en leur nom une réduction de leurs droits de scolarité ainsi que cinq millions de dollars en dommages punitifs.

Selon la décision rendue cette semaine par la juge Dominique Poulin, cette action collective mérite d’être entendue.

Les faits allégués dans la procédure — plus particulièrement ceux concernant les discours antisémites et antisionistes tenus sur le campus universitaire — sont préoccupants et permettent de montrer que l’action a des chances de succès au terme d’un procès, écrit la magistrate.

La réplique musclée d’Israël aux événements d’octobre 2023 et ses bombardements sans relâche sur la bande de Gaza ont mené à de nombreuses manifestations en 2023 et en 2024 sur le campus de l’Université McGill, ainsi qu’à l’installation d’un campement propalestinien….

Source: Une action collective accusant l’Université McGill d’avoir toléré de l’antisémitisme autorisée

The Superior Court of Quebec has just given the green light to a class action brought against McGill University. The lawsuit alleges that, since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, 2023, Jewish students have suffered harassment of all kinds and that a toxic and insecure climate reigned on its Montreal campus.

According to the lawsuit, the University has failed in its obligations to protect its Jewish students and provide them with an environment conducive to their education. It is therefore claimed on their behalf a reduction in their tuition fees as well as five million dollars in punitive damages.

According to the decision rendered this week by Judge Dominique Poulin, this class action deserves to be heard.

The facts alleged in the proceedings – especially those concerning anti-Semitic and anti-Sionist speeches held on the university campus – are worrying and show that the action has a chance of success at the end of a trial, writes the magistrate.

Israel’s muscular response to the events of October 2023 and its relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip led to numerous demonstrations in 2023 and 2024 on the McGill University campus, as well as the installation of a pro-Palestinian camp….

Filed under Multiculturalism, Antisemitism Tagged with ,

ICYMI – Geist: Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis: National Survey Finds Antisemitism Nearly Everywhere and University Responses Nowhere

2026/08/11 Leave a comment

Understandably, this report has received considerable coverage and commentary. One of the better commentaries IMO:

…The report itself stops short of formal recommendations, concluding instead that academic leadership must take greater responsibility and that the findings should be used immediately by leadership in higher education institutions to examine their policies and practices. The recommendations came separately from the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA), a non-partisan group of more than 400 Jewish and non-Jewish academics from 54 institutions of which I am a member, which released ten recommendations alongside the report. The list will sound familiar to anyone who has followed this issue: applying existing policies to protect students targeted for any aspect of their Jewish identity including Zionism, institutional neutrality policies that apply across the institution, adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism together with the Canadian Handbook, a centralized and transparent incident reporting system with annual campus climate assessments, and a special advisor on antisemitism on every campus.

What has been missing is not knowledge of what to do, but the will to do it. Indeed, the release carries its own illustration of the problem: the survey was commissioned by former Special Envoy Deborah Lyons before the government eliminated her role, leaving the government to release the most comprehensive evidence yet of a systemic antisemitism problem on campus just months after creating a leadership void that has yet to be filled and a new anti-hate council that has yet to act.

I have been an academic for nearly 30 years, working in an environment where inclusion and safe spaces for all students to be their best were unquestioned priorities. Backed by a supportive University president, dean, and advisor on antisemitism, I still believe that to be the case. But this survey confirms that the vast majority of Jewish students encounter antisemitism on campus. If this were any other group — 95% of Indigenous students reporting discrimination or 70% of BIPOC students reporting mental health harm — this would be viewed as a major crisis requiring immediate action. But when 95% of Jewish students report encountering antisemitism, 70% report harm to their mental health, a majority hide their identity, and students report threats of violence and Holocaust denial, the response from some quarters is to ignore or take issue with the survey data.

The bottom line is that hundreds of Jewish students from campuses across the country report antisemitic conduct on campus that is stunning in scope and harm. Every university president in Canada should be investigating how much of the data reflects their own campus experience and committing to change through the NECA recommendations. Every faculty member should be examining whether the discriminatory conduct occurs in their class. And every faculty and student union should be working to fully protect their Jewish members. Years of willingness to tolerate or excuse the antisemitic reality – a Jewish exception – suggests this is unlikely to happen. But now no one can say they didn’t know what was happening.

Source: Canada’s Campus Antisemitism Crisis: National Survey Finds Antisemitism Nearly Everywhere and University Responses Nowhere

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Colby Cosh: Supreme Court to decide which comes first — Crown oath or Sikh faith

2026/08/10 2 Comments

Commentary more nuanced than the header:

…Over the remainder of the 19th century, the great hero of world atheism, Charles Bradlaugh, fought successfully in England for the principle that oaths could be replaced by “affirmations,” allowing unbelievers a loophole into political life and all secular professions. This option is in fact available under the Alberta Legal Profession Act, and was given to Wirring, but the difference in wording between “swear” and “affirm” didn’t seem to assuage his religious feelings. The core problem seems to be the notion of “allegiance,” but at common law all citizens were understood to owe allegiance to the sovereign, as part of a reciprocal obligation, whether we like it or not. Maybe this is some of the meat left on the bone that the Supreme Court apparently hopes to gnaw; I don’t know that anyone expected them to give leave to an appeal of Wirringat all.

Source: Colby Cosh: Supreme Court to decide which comes first — Crown oath or Sikh faith

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Lederman: The delay for a Palestinian theatre artist’s visa is a shame

2026/08/10 2 Comments

Indeed:

…The Cultch attracted protests earlier this year for mounting Soldiers of Tomorrow, written and performed by Israeli-Canadian Itai Erdal who served in the IDF (and is strongly opposed to the Israeli occupation). Ms. Redfern stood her ground then, and she’s moving heaven and Earth now to bring The Horse of Jenin to Canada. She understands the important role art can play in understanding human catastrophes. 

This moment demands this kind of theatre, whether you agree with the artist or not. Any concern that this play about a boy and a sculpture will serve as some sort of Trojan horse for a political message would be absurd. That message is everywhere, anyway. Canadian audiences should be able to hear it from, well, the horse’s mouth. 

Source: The delay for a Palestinian theatre artist’s visa is a shame

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Khan: We need solidarity in the face of Islamophobia

2026/08/10 Leave a comment

As we do in the face of antisemitism and other forms of hate:

…Local communities can play a key role in strengthening social cohesion. This was demonstrated by the good people of Clarington, who came together at a town hall to support the harassed Muslim family, and stand firmly against fear-mongering. 

Human connection is a powerful currency in this more isolated digital age, as we can learn we share much in common. Our hearts, like this land, are expansive enough to offer comfort and solidarity in the face of hatred. The Clarington approach can serve as a blueprint for strengthening communities across Canada against Islamophobia, antisemitism, and hate in general.

Source: We need solidarity in the face of Islamophobia

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