August 8, 2023
OTTAWA – B’nai Brith’s Committee for Justice in Canada is asking legislators to prioritize affordable housing and access to information about Nazi war criminals in Canada as the Government crafts the 2024 Federal Budget.
In our Aug. 1, 2023, submission to the House of Commons Finance Committee for its annual pre-budget consultations, we called for the Government to help charitable organizations such as B’nai Brith build affordable housing for new Canadians, Indigenous peoples, low-income families and seniors.
We are also asking for the Government to create a Rental Property Acquisition Fund, which would provide B’nai Brith and other responsible charities the opportunity to purchase affordable rental buildings and co-ops for sale across the country and make the units available to those in need of financial assistance.
Working with the charitable sector would revitalize existing programs within Canada’s National Housing Strategy at a time when Sean Fraser, the new Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, urgently needs support in confronting the country’s home affordability crisis.
B’nai Brith also reminded the Commons’ Finance Committee that Canada, as a member of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), committed to making all archival material about the Holocaust, including the admittance of Nazi war criminals into Canada, accessible to the public. The Government still has not done so, and many crucial reports on war criminals who fled to this country after the Second World War remain partially or entirely redacted. To rectify this and increase transparency, we are asking Ottawa to allocate funding towards a publicly accessible, digital archive of all records relating to the Holocaust.
“We are looking forward to appearing before the Committee to present our recommendations, which are outlined in our submission,” said Michael Mostyn, B’nai Brith’s Chief Executive Officer. “We encourage members of the Committee to adopt our sound recommendations. If B’nai Brith’s key budget asks are introduced by Chrystia Freeland [Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance], they will help Canadians learn from the past and build a brighter future.”
