September 24, 2024
OTTAWA – After a year of unprecedented antisemitic incidents, B’nai Brith is urging the Government of Canada to ensure the 2025 Federal Budget includes funding for Holocaust education and counter-terrorism efforts.
“As Canadians, we cannot sit idly by as the fabric of our nation is torn apart and the morals and values of our country are undermined,” B’nai Brith stated in a four-page brief submitted Aug. 1 to the House of Commons Finance Committee. “That is why federal and opposition parties alike must work with stakeholders across the country to proactively combat hate and injustice wherever it occurs.”
For instance, B’nai Brith is renewing its recommendation from last year for the Government to provide Libraries and Archives Canada (LAC) with funding to digitize Holocaust-related records.
“The public must have access to as much evidence of the Holocaust as LAC can make possible,” said David Granovsky, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Government Relations. “This will help Canadians, especially young Canadians, learn about the atrocities committed in Europe during World War II as well as fully appreciate Canada’s own Nazi past.”
We are also asking the Government to develop a five-year program to enhance post- secondary students’ grasp of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
B’nai Brith’s submission also reflects the Jewish community’s concerns about the increasing frequency of terrorist threats in this country – particularly one case involving a man who became a Canadian citizen despite having allegedly fought for the Islamic State in Syria – as well as acts of terror carried out by Canadians on foreign soil.
“Tragically, Canada has become a breeding ground for radicals and extremists,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “Canada’s Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams (INSETs), which connect Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) with local and provincial authorities, must receive all the funding necessary to ensure they are prepared to respond to and prevent terrorist threats.”
