Lyons, Cotler and Lew: To counter antisemitism, Canadians must first be able to recognize it

2024/11/13 Leave a comment

Op-ed promoting the antisemitism guidebook:

…Canadians should unite to combat antisemitism not only because it is an abhorrent, dangerous, and deadly prejudice, but because it is toxic to the very fabric of our democracy and society. Antisemitism is known as the “canary in the coal-mine” for all forms of hatred and intolerance – a weathervane for growing societal intolerance and prejudice – because what starts with the Jews does not end with the Jews.

Simply put, antisemitism is a threat not only to Jewish individuals and the Jewish community, but to Canadian society and democracy as a whole. Our hope is that the Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Definition will be a valuable tool for Canadians seeking to combat this threat and address the rising tide of antisemitism.

Source: To counter antisemitism, Canadians must first be able to recognize it

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Keller: Donald Trump’s victory is about class, not race. And that’s a good thing

2024/11/13 Leave a comment

I would argue both but more discussion about class and less about identity is positive:

…A multiracial society is a lot more difficult to sustain if politics is fought over immutable characteristics, with skin colour or ethnicity dictating how I vote, and which party courts or targets me. Democrats have long accused the MAGA movement of being white supremacy on steroids, but more and more blue-collar voters of all races, particularly Hispanics, don’t see it that way. They see MAGA as a working-class movement.

It’s not a great thing for a society to have deep class divisions – but it’s a heck of a lot better than a deep racial divide. Class, in the U.S. and Canada, is not a fixed thing. It’s mutable, evolving and debatable. It’s about everything from lifestyle to mindset to culture, all which can and do change – unlike skin colour.

It’s notable that, while Ms. Harris and Democrats ran against the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that ruled against a constitutional right to abortion, they never mentioned the monumental 2023 Supreme Court decision that declared affirmative action in college admission unconstitutional. Race-blind admission is a popular policy, even in Democratic-controlled California, where whites are a minority.

In the years to come, Democrats and Republicans alike will continue to appeal to voters on the basis of tribal identities – small town versus city, college versus blue collar, conservative versus progressive. But electoral appeals based on race have become a lot less salient in American politics. That’s progress.

Source: Donald Trump’s victory is about class, not race. And that’s a good thing

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Black and Arab people overrepresented in Quebec City police stops, data show 

2024/11/12 Leave a comment

Of note:

New data from Quebec City police show that Black, Arab and, to a lesser extent, Latino people are overrepresented in police stops, a recurring pattern across North America. Researchers and advocates say this is evidence of racial profiling, which the force denies.

The data, obtained by The Globe and Mail through an access to information request, break down by race the 4,567 stops done by Quebec City police between Jan. 1, 2023, and July 13, 2024.

They include street checks and arbitrary traffic stops conducted under a Highway Safety Code provision invalidated by the Quebec Superior Court in a landmark 2022 racial profiling case. Police continued to use the provision pending appeal by the Quebec government, but the Court of Appeal confirmed the lower court ruling in October. Street checks occur when police ask individuals to provide ID or other information without detaining or arresting them.

White people were under-represented in police stops, making up 83.1 per cent of stops, compared with 90.6 per cent of the Quebec City population, according to the 2021 census.

Source: Black and Arab people overrepresented in Quebec City police stops, data show

Filed under Multiculturalism, Racism Tagged with , ,

Chris Selley: Imagine the chaos if Israeli soccer comes to Canada

2024/11/12 Leave a comment

Not an appealing thought experiment:

…It was a terribly grim landmark day for European Jews, and indeed for Europe in general. The World Jewish Congress estimates there are only about 30,000 Jews in the Netherlands: roughly one-eighth as many as in 1939, on the eve of the Holocaust. There might be even fewer than that in very short order, if Thursday’s madness becomes routine. Canadians, Jews especially, are right to wonder whether it could happen here.

The answer is, basically, sure it could. But it could also be prevented. And this should have been. It looks like a colossal failure of policing. It’s easy to say from a desk on the other side of the Atlantic, but this was entirely predictable.

Reports out of Amsterdam Wednesday night were alarmingly and obviously portentous of what occurred the next day. Some purported Maccabi-supporting hooligans had assaulted a taxi driver and ripped down Palestinian flags, while chanting anti-Palestinian slogans.

Even if it weren’t true, the fact those stories were out there in the wild should have been reason enough to expect retaliation — and then some.

Clearly what happened Thursday night isn’t primarily about soccer. It’s about primordial hatred. But alas, soccer incubates primordial hatred. That’s true within the Netherlands: Ajax supporters, few of whom are Jewish, have traditionally embraced the team’s Jewish roots (they often refer to themselves as “the Jews”) and their rivals — especially supporters of Rotterdam club Feyenoord — have often taunted Ajax with antisemitic chants like “Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the gas, followed by a hissing noise. From a North American perspective, it’s almost beyond belief.

…It’s not inconceivable that Israel might qualify for the 2026 World Cup, and that it might play one or more games in Toronto or Vancouver. I shudder to imagine what that would look like. Police don’t just need to be prepared for serious Amsterdam-style violence; they, and their political overseers, need somehow to convince Canadian Jews and their friends that they’re actually safe. It’s a tough job, nowadays.

Source: Chris Selley: Imagine the chaos if Israeli soccer comes to Canada

Filed under Antisemitism, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Internal report describes a ‘cesspool of racism’ in the federal public service

2024/11/11 Leave a comment

Similar to an earlier report by Zellars on all PCO employees (Privy Council Office workers face culture of ‘racial stereotyping’: internal report). Given the same methodology and consultant, my earlier comments still broadly apply..

Took a look at the Public Service Employee Survey results for PCO. In most cases, broadly comparable to the public service as a whole, with some exceptions. But interestingly, some slippage between the 2020 and 2022 surveys results in harassment and discrimination, perhaps reflecting a mix of greater awareness following the Clerk’s Call to Action and the broader social context.

19.2 percent of PCO are visible minorities, 3.0 percent Indigenous peoples, broadly comparable to other departments [for executives, the numbers are 15.2 percent, 5.2 percent respectively]. Unfortunately, don’t have desegregated data by visible minority and indigenous group.

As to the Zellars report, based on interviews, we see a similar pattern in that the surveys indicate that there are issues, a consultant with experience in diversity issues is engaged, has discussions with a number of employees, many who feel aggrieved by remarks and/or treatment. But the nature of such consultants, given their career, is to have an implicit bias of highlighting discrimination and prejudice rather than a more neutral approach. Doesn’t mean of course findings are not valid but need to be assessed accordingly.

And of course the usual groups of organizations and activists use the survey to further their political aims:

An internal report on workplace racism and harassment at the highest levels of the federal public service shows that not even the federal government’s top executives are immune to the problem.

The government-funded report on the experiences of Black public servants in the senior ranks of government — obtained by CBC News — includes first-hand accounts of racist remarks, harassment, intimidation and threats that have harmed the mental health of public servants, especially Black women.

“Crucially, Black women detailed workplace conflicts so severe that they led to chronic depression, the use of antidepressant medications, and suicide attempts,” the report says.

The report also documents instances of Black public servants being called the N-word at work, sexual harassment and even threats of physical violence. It also raises concerns about internal complaint processes being weaponized against Black executives.

The report was initiated by the Black Executives Network, a support group for Black executives in the federal public service. The network is funded by multiple government departments.

CBC obtained a copy of the report and an email from the country’s top public servant — Clerk of the Privy Council John Hannaford — addressing the report’s findings and providing a preliminary response plan.

“What is relayed in the report is deeply concerning and we are distressed to think that some members of the Black executive community have reported that they have lived or are living through these kinds of experiences,” Hannaford said in the email.

Hannaford and several other senior public servants sent the email to all deputy ministers and the Black Executives Network….

Source: Internal report describes a ‘cesspool of racism’ in the federal public service

Filed under Government, Racism Tagged with ,

Canada’s big banks are providing little information about Black entrepreneurship loan programs

2024/11/08 Leave a comment

Of note:

Most of Canada’s major banks continue to lack transparency regarding their loan programs aimed at supporting and removing barriers for Black entrepreneurs, The Globe and Mail has found.

The killing of George Floyd in 2020 sparked conversations between the banks, the federal government and Black business organizations about increasing funding for Black entrepreneurs who disproportionately face systemic barriers to accessing capital. Banks ended up leaving the government initiative in 2021 with promises to create their own tailored programs.

In the three years since, five of the six biggest banks have created programs that they say would help increase the amount of credit that Black entrepreneurs have been able to access. However, while The Globe has repeatedly checked in with the banks to track the progress and impact of these programs, the institutions have generally declined to provide data on how many loans have been extended or how many Black entrepreneurs they have helped.

In October, The Globe reached out again. Only Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada shared data about the amount of loan money they have distributed and the number of approved applicants. Other institutions, including Bank of Nova Scotia, Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Montreal and National Bank provided limited or no information….

Source: Canada’s big banks are providing little information about Black entrepreneurship loan programs

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

Khan: Montreal’s hijab decision shows how institutions fail to protect Muslim women 

2024/11/08 Leave a comment

Largely gets it right but laïcité affects other religions and religious “headgear” as well (e.g., Sikhs, Jews). Most advertising these days features ethnic diversity but less so with respect to religious diversity:

Oct. 27 marked the beginning of a hebdomadis horribilis for Muslim women in Canada, as they learned they could not depend on civil institutions to include and protect them.

Let’s begin in Montreal. Appearing on the current affairs show Tout le Monde en Parle, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante was asked about a pencil-sketch poster featuring a hijab-clad woman standing between two men. The sign says “Welcome to city hall.” Some had expressed discomfort with the sign for showing religious garb in a municipal building. Ms. Plante acknowledged the discomfort, reiterated the laïque (lay) nature of city hall, and stated that the sign would be removed.

The Mayor’s message was clear: all people are welcome at City Hall, except if you wear a hijab. This hits deep. I arrived in Montreal at the age of three from India. I experienced first-hand the openness, inclusivity and vibrancy of a special city, which allowed me to thrive in the dynamism of a francophone culture. The decision to remove a welcome sign because it features a woman in hijab goes against everything I know and love about Montreal.

This issue is part of a larger debate in Quebec about laïcité, which is distinct from secularism. The latter has its roots in Anglo-Saxon philosophy, where the individual has inalienable rights free from state intrusion. The former has roots in the views of philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, where the individual obtains freedom through the state. In secularism, the state cannot favour any one religion; in laïcité, it cannot be seen as promoting any religion. During the Quiet Revolution, Quebec society methodically removed the hegemonic influence of the Catholic Church, which was seen as particularly detrimental to women. As Quebec lurches toward institutional laïcité today, it seems unbothered that just as the Catholic Church refused to uphold, let alone acknowledge, the personal agency of women, so too does laïcité. For the target of this debate in Quebec over the past two decades has been women in hijab….

Source: Montreal’s hijab decision shows how institutions fail to protect Muslim women

Filed under Multiculturalism Tagged with , ,

Kermalli | Students went on a field trip to learn about Islamic contributions to sciences and arts. It never should have taken an ugly turn

2024/11/07 Leave a comment

Worth reflecting upon:

…When are we ever going to be open and embrace, rather than push away or feel threatened by cultures different from our own?

Last week, I chose to observe a Simchat Torah service at a synagogue with a longtime Jewish friend. Simchat Torah is a joyous holiday that celebrates the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and as a Muslim, one I could resonate with, given Islam’s own reverence toward the Quran and acceptance of both the Jewish Torah and the Christian Gospels. It proved to be a wonderful experience and many congregants thanked me for “honouring the ceremony” with my presence. This took me by surprise, because it was in fact I who felt grateful for being permitted to attend the ceremony.

The experience also reminded me of the Quranic verse (49:13): “Oh mankind! We made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other).”

But the children and staff who attended the exhibition last week would not have taken in that core teaching. Because the racially infused pressure on the school board worked: The Quranic recitation was dropped from the program.

And Jewish families can take additional comfort in the announcement Monday that the Ford government will pour $551,000 this coming Holocaust Education Week to double down on combating antisemitism.

Source: Opinion | Students went on a field trip to learn about Islamic contributions to sciences and arts. It never should have taken an ugly turn


Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with

LILLEY: Canada now a land of ethic and religious fighting

2024/11/06 Leave a comment

Overwrought and exaggerated, but yes, these are worrying signs:

We are the country we claim not to be. Canada is now a country of religious and ethnic tensions, bigotry and violence.

We saw this over the weekend in Brampton when a Hindu temple was attacked. People beaten with bats; video shows people carrying Khalistani flags hitting temple goers with the flag poles.

We even have a Peel Regional Police officer suspended for taking part in the protest which turned violent. Sergeant Harinder Sohi, an 18-year veteran of the force, is now suspended after being identified as a participant.

He’s apparently now receiving death threats for participating.

The outbreak of a Sikh-Hindu religious war isn’t the only problem facing our country on this front. For a year, we have seen hate marches rise up across the country in support of terrorist organizations.

In the weeks after the Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks by Hamas against Israel, we heard countless politicians say, “This isn’t who we are.” They said this in response to synagogues being attacked, Jewish schools being shot at, and Jewish community centres being firebombed.

Well, apparently this is who we are because these incidents have not stopped.

Last week, Eylon Levy, a man I’ve interviewed multiple times — with whom I met with in Israel last January and who was an Israeli government spokesperson for a time — was on a speaking tour in Canada. While at the University of Calgary to give a talk, Levy was met with cries of “Allahu akbar!” and claims that he was personally responsible for genocide and killing babies.

“That crosses the line from any sort of political protest into a full-on Jihadi war cry,” Levy told my Toronto Sun colleague Bryan Passifiume.

This is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new Canada, full-on ethnic and religious wars on our streets and nothing more from our leadership than a tweet.

“The acts of violence at the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton today are unacceptable. Every Canadian has the right to practice their faith freely and safely,” Trudeau said in a social media post.

It’s too bad that Trudeau has been part of what has encouraged these protests. Just like Trudeau has failed to deal with anti-Semitism and the attacks on Jewish institutions for political gain, he’s used tensions in India to win favour with some groups.

For years, Trudeau has decided to bring the tensions of India’s domestic politics into Canadian politics. He inserted himself into a dispute between the Indian government and farmers in 2020 in a way that would have caused great consternation had a foreign government done the same during our trucker’s protest.

He has campaigned in Canada against the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an attempt to win votes in Canada’s Sikh community. Immigration to Canada, in both the Sikh and Hindu communities, dates back more than 100 years.

For most of that time, there has been some form of peaceful co-existence. Tensions yes, but not an all-out religious war which is where we appear to be heading with no help from Trudeau and his politicking.

Meanwhile, India is set to take a harsher stand against Canada, even considering calling Canada a state sponsor of terrorism, according to some reports. The fact that we went from decades long ally of India to a pariah can only be laid at Trudeau’s feet.

It’s the same with Israel.

Canada voted for the creation of the State of Israel at the United Nations in 1948 and for the past several years has done everything possible to undermine that state. The Liberal Party has also taken policy positions that put ethno-religious politics above principle.

Foreign Minister Melanie Joly is openly courting the votes of people who back Hamas and Hezbollah. Yet, we are supposed to be shocked when an Israeli speaker is shut down at the University of Calgary and needs to be escorted out by security.

Add that to the schools being shot at, the synagogues attacked, the temples being swarmed, this is Justin Trudeau’s new Canada. The PM, who says he’s against divisiveness, sure has created a lot of it.

Source: LILLEY: Canada now a land of ethic and religious fighting

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Lisée | Féminisme viril: On reactions to “disappearing” reference to women

2024/11/05 Leave a comment

My favourites example is pregnant people rather than pregnant women:

…Ce n’est pas son propos, j’en conviens, et ça ne le rend pas moins pertinent. Car en parallèle de ce progrès fulgurant, des forces venues du volet masculin de la planète et prenant les atours du progressisme tentent de faire subir recul sur recul à un certain nombre d’acquis féminins durement gagnés.

Sophie tient un compte précis du nombre de fois où, par dérive intellectuelle ou par simple volonté d’être dans le vent, des organismes de l’État ou de la société civile ont voulu faire disparaître le mot « femme » du vocabulaire, ici et ailleurs, y compris les mots vagin, clitoris, même sein ! Au nom de l’inclusion du 0,75 % de la population qui s’auto-exclut des deux genres, il faudrait biffer les mentions de l’existence de la moitié des 99,25 % restants. Un peu comme si on interdisait à Justin Trudeau de dire « Canadiens, Canadiennes », car il est certain qu’il y a toujours un ou deux touristes dans l’auditoire. Elle note par exemple qu’il ne sera plus possible de suivre l’évolution du nombre de femmes au Collège des médecins, car leurs questionnaires ont changé pour donner, non deux choix de genre, mais 14 (14 !).

Une poignée d’insurgés

On pourrait lui répliquer que plusieurs des cas locaux et recensés ont été battus en brèche à cause de la réaction provoquée dans l’espace public par des femmes (et des hommes) qui réprouvent ces dérives. Justement. Si ces réactions existent, c’est que Sophie Durocher et quelques autres se sont donné le rôle de dire non. De faire de la « pédagogie de combat », selon l’expression de l’admirable Française Caroline Fourest, ou du « féminisme viril », selon celle de Sophie.

Ces interventions portent leurs fruits. Je me hasarde à penser qu’en Occident, ces dérives auront connu leur apogée entre 2020 et 2023 — et qu’elles sont désormais sinon en retrait, ou du moins sur la défensive. C’est davantage le cas au Québec qu’ailleurs, ce coin de continent que j’aime appeler la République du bon sens. Martine Biron a été prompte à refuser que le mot « femme » disparaisse du Code civil. Elle a été appuyée même par Québec solidaire. C’est un signe. Le refus d’accepter que les Montréalaises soient représentées par une femme voilée dans une image d’accueil à l’hôtel de ville s’est rendu à Valérie Plante, qui y a donné droit. C’en est un autre.

Ces victoires ne sont pas arrivées seules. Il a fallu qu’à la manière de Sophie Durocher, des citoyens s’insurgent contre ce qui s’installait comme une nouvelle façon d’être, présentée comme moderne et inclusive, alors que leur effet combiné, voulu ou non, réduisait l’espace que les femmes avaient acquis. Pour mener ce combat, il fallait accepter d’être exclu, pendant cet instant où la bêtise semblait dominante, du club des gens bien, du réseau de l’élite et du progrès.

C’est plus ardu que vous ne le pensez. On trouve moins de volontaires pour mener ces combats que de partisans du confort bien-pensant. C’est pourquoi on ne demande jamais, sur ces questions, où est Sophie Durocher ? Elle est toujours là, au front.

Source: Lisée | Féminisme viril

… That’s not his point, I agree, and that doesn’t make him less relevant. Because in parallel with this meteoric progress, forces coming from the male component of the planet and taking the guise of progressivism are trying to subject a number of hard-won female achievements to back and retreat.

Sophie keeps a precise account of the number of times that, out of intellectual drift or out of a simple desire to be in the wind, state or civil society organizations wanted to make the word “woman” disappear from the vocabulary, here and elsewhere, including the words vagina, clitoris, same breast! In the name of the inclusion of 0.75% of the population who self-exclude themselves from both genders, mentions of the existence of half of the remaining 99.25% should be deleted. A bit like forbidding Justin Trudeau to say “Canadians, Canadians”, because it is certain that there are always one or two tourists in the audience. She notes, for example, that it will no longer be possible to follow the evolution of the number of women at the College of Physicians, because their questionnaires have changed to give, not two gender choices, but 14 (14!).

A handful of insurgents

It could be said to him that several of the local and registered cases were defeated because of the reaction in public space by women (and men) who disapprove of these excesses. Precisely. If these reactions exist, it is because Sophie Durocher and a few others have given themselves the role of saying no. To do “combat pedagogy”, according to the expression of the admirable French Caroline Fourest, or “virile feminism”, according to Sophie’s.

These interventions are bearing fruit. I venture to think that in the West, these drifts will have reached their peak between 2020 and 2023 – and that they are now if not in retreat, or at least on the defensive. This is more the case in Quebec than elsewhere, this piece of the continent that I like to call the Republic of common sense. Martine Biron was quick to refuse to have the word “woman” disappear from the Civil Code. She was even supported by Québec solidaire. It’s a sign. The refusal to accept that Montrealers be represented by a veiled woman in a welcome image at City Hall went to Valérie Plante, who gave it the right. It’s another one.

These victories did not come alone. It was necessary that, in the manner of Sophie Durocher, citizens rebelled against what was being installed as a new way of being, presented as modern and inclusive, while their combined effect, wanted or not, reduced the space that women had acquired. To lead this fight, it was necessary to accept to be excluded, during this moment when stupidity seemed dominant, from the club of good people, from the elite network and progress.

It’s harder than you think. There are fewer volunteers to lead these fights than supporters of well-thinking comfort. That’s why we never ask, on these questions, where is Sophie Durocher? She’s still there, at the front.

Filed under gender, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

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