The Commons justice committee has recommended that federal postsecondary funding be contingent on strict enforcement of Canada’s anti-hate laws. Blacklock's Reporter says the proposal comes in response to increasing reports of antisemitism on campuses.“Hateful speech and speech that incites violence will not be tolerated,” stated the committee's report, Heightened Anti-Semitism In Canada And How To Confront It. It urged the government to ensure institutions receiving public funding uphold anti-discrimination laws, respect the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and do not promote intolerance or hate.Deborah Lyons, Canada’s Special Envoy on Combating Antisemitism, testified that colleges and universities have become flashpoints for anti-Jewish sentiment. “Postsecondary institutions have a basic responsibility to ensure the safety of Jewish students, indeed of all students, on their campuses,” she said.Testimony before the Commons and Senate committees painted a grim picture. Deidre Butler, a Carleton University professor, said Jewish students face harassment and threats. “Student groups are shouting, ‘globalize the intifada,’” she reported. “Jewish women have been threatened with, ‘we are going to rape you like Hamas did on October 7.’”Dr. Ira Robinson, professor emeritus at Concordia University, said antisemitism on campuses spiked after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel, which killed over 1,200 people, including eight Canadians. “Universities have served as major lightning rods for antisemitic manifestations,” he said.The committee heard accounts of Jewish students being physically intimidated, faculty making inflammatory remarks, and campuses being vandalized. A Toronto Metropolitan University student was grabbed and told, “It’s too bad Hitler didn’t finish the job.” At Queen’s University, a faculty member began a medical conference by condemning “the genocide in Gaza.”Prof. James Diamond, of Waterloo University, highlighted his concerns: “My parents are survivors of the Holocaust... Is this all disintegrating? Are we reverting back to a situation that my parents perhaps faced?”
