Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has called for a ban on public displays of swastikas and other Nazi symbols, joining a national effort to outlaw anti-Semitic emblems.
Blacklcok's Reporter says his endorsement of a petition by B’nai Brith Canada, which advocates for such a prohibition, was met with gratitude from the organization.
“Thank you, Premier,” B’nai Brith stated, calling the proposed ban “a critical step toward protecting Jewish Canadians.”
In a letter to the federal cabinet, Moe urged Parliament to act against a surge in religiously motivated hate crimes.
“The recent resurgence of Nazi iconography, including the swastika in public places across Canada, is deeply concerning,” he wrote.
Moe called for “decisive action” to outlaw these symbols, with exceptions for educational and artistic contexts, as a way to demonstrate Canada’s condemnation of hate.
Existing sections of the Criminal Code already prohibit advocating genocide or inciting hatred against identifiable groups.
Parliament also banned hate speech in 1970, a move later upheld by the Supreme Court. However, a 2022 proposal to specifically outlaw Nazi symbols, introduced as Bill C-229 by NDP MP Peter Julian, stalled before Second Reading.
The push for tougher restrictions has intensified following incidents of anti-Semitic rhetoric and intimidation, particularly on university campuses.
At Senate human rights committee hearings, experts described Jewish students being threatened and harassed after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks in Israel.
“Jewish women have been threatened with ‘we are going to rape you like Hamas did on October 7,’” testified Deidre Butler, associate professor of Jewish Studies at Carleton University.
Others reported being told to “get back in the oven.”
A Commons justice committee report documented dozens of anti-Semitic incidents in schools and universities.
A Jewish student at Toronto Metropolitan University was physically attacked and told, “It’s too bad Hitler didn’t finish the job.” At Queen’s University, a faculty member opened a medical conference with remarks about “the genocide in Gaza.”
James Diamond, chair of Jewish Studies at Waterloo University, spoke of his family’s history as Holocaust survivors.
“They worked all their lives and loved Canada,” he testified. “Is this all disintegrating? Are we reverting back to a situation that my parents perhaps faced?”
