Liberal MP Jenica Atwin (Fredericton) has sponsored a petition demanding that the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) divest all investments from Israel. Blacklock's Reporter says Atwin has also backed petitions calling for limits on background checks for Gazans entering Canada and the introduction of Arab history into public school curricula.Atwin did not respond to questions but previously addressed the importance of language in discussing the Mideast conflict. “Words might appear insignificant at a time when we are collectively facing horror,” she said, two weeks after Hamas terrorists killed and kidnapped Jews in Israel, including eight Canadians.“Words can hurt, but they can also heal,” Atwin said. “They can change how we perceive the world. We need to see the humanity in one another.”On August 1, Atwin sponsored three petitions submitted by constituents, including Fredericton activists. Petition E-5084 requests that Parliament “demand the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board divest from Israel and complicit companies.” Currently, the Board holds $211 million in stock in Israeli firms, mainly banks and pharmaceutical companies. Despite the Board nearly doubling its Israeli investments last year, these represent a small fraction of the $632.2 billion under management.Atwin also sponsored Petition E-5082, which asks the Commons justice committee to investigate “anti-Palestinian racism,” a term not defined in the petition. “Anti-Palestinian racism is on the rise and is often ignored,” the petition states, arguing that this form of racism is distinct from Islamophobia and is often conflated with it, obscuring the specific struggles faced by Palestinians.Additionally, Petition E-5082 calls for Parliament to support the inclusion of Nakba, an Arabic observance that depicts the 1948 founding of Israel as a human rights catastrophe, in public school curricula.Another petition, E-5083, urges the Department of Immigration to loosen regulations on granting temporary visas to Gazans. The petitioners seek to “remove the arbitrary limit of 5,000” permits, “reduce applicants’ personal detail requirements including granular health information, social media accounts and other onerous documentation,” and “end the policy of sending applicants’ names for approval to the Israeli government.”Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the program on December 21, allowing Gazans to enter Canada despite ordinarily being disqualified from receiving three-year residency permits. Miller emphasized the necessity of security checks by Israel. “There is an extensive vetting system that is done on the ground,” he said. “The Israelis have their say. They will screen people and decide whether they leave or don’t leave.”To date, 3,008 Gazans have been approved to enter Canada, with 283 arrivals so far, according to the Department of Immigration.
