OTTAWA — The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights released its report Tuesday morning, urging the Federal government to reinstate the position of Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism among other recommendations. The envoy position was replaced on February 4, 2026, by a new Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, after Deborah Lyons resigned as the envoy last year. According to the senate report, police-reported hate crimes in Canada climbed to 4,882 in 2024, up from 1,951 in 2019, while hate crimes targeting religious groups remained elevated at 1,342 cases with 920 of those cases targeted the Jewish community.Jewish Canadians represented 1.67% of Canada’s population according to the 2021 census.The report recommends greater national adoption of Holocaust education. The report also recommends the federal government to create a digital safety commission to address the spread of social media content deemed disinformation, hateful, or extreme. The committee also called for expanded taxpayer funded security infrastructure to protect private Jewish institutions such as schools, community centres and synagogues, along with standardized national training for law enforcement using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of 'antisemitism.'The IHRA Definition of Antisemitism cites multiple examples of criticism of Israel, its creation, and its founding ideology; Zionism, as forms of antisemitism, hence why Republican Congressman Thomas Massie voted against the codification of the definition into federal law in the U.S. citing free speech concerns related to political criticisms of Israel. In Canada, independent jewish voices, the Canadian Labour Congress, Canadian Union of Public Employees are among the dozens of organizations that publicly oppose IHRA implementation. The three major federal parties; Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Québécois all support the IHRA Definition. The findings come after months of testimony from Jewish community leaders, law enforcement officials, who warned of rising incidents of antisemitism..The report comes only weeks after Israeli officials publicly urged Canada to take a more aggressive approach to 'antisemitism', including reconsidering how democratic freedoms are applied.Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed said his government is seeking “a significant change” in Canada’s response, suggesting that addressing threats could require limits on certain freedoms.“It is hard for a liberal person to think that we have to limit other people’s freedoms, so that our freedom will be protected,” Moed said during a virtual forum.The diplomatic pressure followed a series of incidents targeting Jewish institutions, including shootings at synagogues in the Greater Toronto Area, which inspired calls from Israeli leaders to limit civil liberties on Canadian soil.
