Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism
Canadian Jewish Congress has been actively involved in supporting the work of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA).
To read a copy of CJC’s submission to the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, click here:
Dec 7, 2009 – CJC presentation at the Inquiry
Quebec Jewish Congress – English (Available soon)
Dec 7, 2009 – QJC presentation at the Inquiry
Quebec Jewish Congress – French (Available soon)
Canadian Jewish Congress is pleased to provide you with the following presentation given Monday December 7, 2009 on Parliament Hill by our President Mark J. Freiman, who was testifying before the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. To read Mr. Freiman’s testimony click here.
Background
In February 2009, parliamentarians from around the world gathered in London, England for the inaugural conference of the Interparliamentary Committee for Combating Antisemitism. The conference brought together over 125 international delegates for two days of presentations and discussions on the increasing problem of antisemitism globally. The conference produced a resolution, “The London Declaration for Combating Antisemitism,” calling on all governments to face the problem of antisemitism, especially its manifestations in the media and academia. Under the leadership of Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, and International Steering Committee Member Professor Irwin Cotler, a delegation of eleven Canadian Members of Parliament attended the conference in London. They returned with the desire to form a Canadian coalition to fight antisemitism here.
The Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism
The new committee, the CPCCA brings together 21 MPs from all parties in the House of Commons for the stated purpose of confronting and combating antisemitism in Canada today. The group is broken into 2 sub-committees: the Steering Committee, chaired by MP Scott Reid, and the Inquiry Panel, chaired by MP Mario Silva.
Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism in Canada
The Inquiry was launched on June 2, 2009, with an open call for written submissions by the Canadian public. Individuals and organizations were invited to submit a paper of up to 2000 words to be reviewed by the committee. Based on these submissions, the committee will invite witnesses to testify at a series of public hearings. At the conclusion of the hearings, the committee will produce a report to the Government of Canada, and anticipates that the Government will respond to it by the spring of 2010.
The CPCCA is unaffiliated with the Government of Canada, or any NGO or advocacy group. It is associated with the Interparliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, an international steering committee which organized the conference in London in 2009.
CJC submitted a national brief to provide the Inquiry with the big picture of antisemitism in Canada in all of its contemporary manifestations, together with a series of recommendations to combat this scourge in Canada. CJC Pacific Region, CJC Ontario Region, Quebec Jewish Congress and several Jewish federations made submissions to provide important regional perspectives. Other organizations, both Jewish and non-Jewish, submitted their own briefs, and many of those endorsed the CJC brief.
A follow-up conference to the February 2009 London Conference is scheduled for Canada in the fall of 2010.
The above information is drawn from the CPCCA’s website. For more information, click here: www.cpcca.ca.
