Trudeau announces Amira Elghawaby as Canada's first representative to combat Islamophobia
- Thread starter The_Foxer
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Is that the same group that ensures there are menstural products in men's washrooms?It might. I would have to Google it. The federal government plans to get rid of two key offices combatting religious discrimination, merging them into a single Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion. The Offices of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia and the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism will both be abolished.
Feds to replace offices combatting Islamophobia, antisemitism with advisory council — CBC News
The federal government plans to get rid of two key offices combatting religious discrimination, merging them into a single national Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion.apple.news
A suspected high-ranking Iranian official caught living in Canada appeared at his deportation hearing on Thursday as the regime he is accused of serving faced growing condemnation for killing protesters.
Before arriving in Canada, the Iranian citizen was a senior member of his government, according to the Canada Border Services Agency, which has asked the Immigration and Refugee Board to order his expulsion.
But as the deportation case was about to get underway, the alleged Iranian official asked the Refugee Board to ban news reporters from his hearing and to instead move the case behind closed doors.
Global News was not permitted to hear his lawyer argue for a secret hearing. The news outlet was only let into the hearing long enough to argue that the case should remain a matter of public record.
The IRB later banned reporters from publishing his name. No explanation for the decision was given. All “submissions, documents, or any other records in this proceeding” were also part of the ban.
The publicity-shy Iranian is the latest alleged top regime member to face a deportation hearing under a 2022 federal policy banning Tehran’s officials from the country.
Canadian officials say they have found more than two dozen others. “There is simply no good reason to deny Canadians this transparency.” Iranian-Canadian activist Azam Jangravi said those who held “high-level” positions in the Islamic republic government “should be deported” and the cases should be open to the public.
Those forced to flee Iran have long complained that high-ranking officials who helped keep Khamenei’s repressive government afloat have been turning up in Canada and treating it as a “safe haven.”
Videos that have made their way out of Iran show crowds chanting that members of the regime had sent their families to live here in safety. “Their child is in Canada, our child is in prison,” they shouted at one protest.
Canada barred “senior members” of the regime from the country more than three years ago, after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, was killed while in the custody of Iran’s religious police for publicly showing her hair.
Since then, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has cancelled 236 visas of Iranian officials, and the CBSA has located 26 living in Canada who they allege merit deportation proceedings…but…but immigration enforcement officials have struggled to expel them, with only a single Iranian official sent back to his home country so far. In five cases, the IRB opted to let them remain in Canada. Most (which means not all) of the hearings have been held in secrecy.
apple.news
Liberal MP Ali Ehsassi, who represents a Toronto riding with a large Iranian population, said “robust” government measures were deterring regime members from coming to Canada.As for the government’s record of deporting just one regime member in more than three years of trying, he said officials were doing their best.
Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman said the government needed to do more. “The Liberals talk tough, but their inaction has turned Canada into a safe harbour for senior officials of the Iranian regime with only one deportation in years to show for it,” she said. “It’s pretty simple: expel regime agents so communities here in Canada can be safe.”
A key source of instability in the Middle East, Iran trains, arms and finances Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen’s Houthis, and sells attack drones to Russia for the war on Ukraine.
In Canada, Iran has been accused of laundering money and evading sanctions, and the foreign interference inquiry revealed how the theocracy was targeting the diaspora in an attempt to stifle critics.
Activists and journalists in Canada have been targeted, prompting the RCMP to warn former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, an outspoken critic of Tehran, that he was the target of an assassination plot.
www.jpost.com
Before arriving in Canada, the Iranian citizen was a senior member of his government, according to the Canada Border Services Agency, which has asked the Immigration and Refugee Board to order his expulsion.
But as the deportation case was about to get underway, the alleged Iranian official asked the Refugee Board to ban news reporters from his hearing and to instead move the case behind closed doors.
Global News was not permitted to hear his lawyer argue for a secret hearing. The news outlet was only let into the hearing long enough to argue that the case should remain a matter of public record.
The IRB later banned reporters from publishing his name. No explanation for the decision was given. All “submissions, documents, or any other records in this proceeding” were also part of the ban.
The publicity-shy Iranian is the latest alleged top regime member to face a deportation hearing under a 2022 federal policy banning Tehran’s officials from the country.
Canadian officials say they have found more than two dozen others. “There is simply no good reason to deny Canadians this transparency.” Iranian-Canadian activist Azam Jangravi said those who held “high-level” positions in the Islamic republic government “should be deported” and the cases should be open to the public.
Those forced to flee Iran have long complained that high-ranking officials who helped keep Khamenei’s repressive government afloat have been turning up in Canada and treating it as a “safe haven.”
Videos that have made their way out of Iran show crowds chanting that members of the regime had sent their families to live here in safety. “Their child is in Canada, our child is in prison,” they shouted at one protest.
Canada barred “senior members” of the regime from the country more than three years ago, after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, was killed while in the custody of Iran’s religious police for publicly showing her hair.
Since then, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has cancelled 236 visas of Iranian officials, and the CBSA has located 26 living in Canada who they allege merit deportation proceedings…but…but immigration enforcement officials have struggled to expel them, with only a single Iranian official sent back to his home country so far. In five cases, the IRB opted to let them remain in Canada. Most (which means not all) of the hearings have been held in secrecy.
Latest alleged Iranian regime official found in Canada wants his identity hidden — Global News
The Iranian citizen wants his case heard behind closed doors.
Deputy Conservative Leader Melissa Lantsman said the government needed to do more. “The Liberals talk tough, but their inaction has turned Canada into a safe harbour for senior officials of the Iranian regime with only one deportation in years to show for it,” she said. “It’s pretty simple: expel regime agents so communities here in Canada can be safe.”
A key source of instability in the Middle East, Iran trains, arms and finances Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militias and Yemen’s Houthis, and sells attack drones to Russia for the war on Ukraine.
In Canada, Iran has been accused of laundering money and evading sanctions, and the foreign interference inquiry revealed how the theocracy was targeting the diaspora in an attempt to stifle critics.
Activists and journalists in Canada have been targeted, prompting the RCMP to warn former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, an outspoken critic of Tehran, that he was the target of an assassination plot.
Irwin Cotler: Canada's special envoy for combating antisemitism | The Jerusalem Post
This article does not do justice to the remarkable achievements of this man.
www.jpost.com
That, and Canaduh is one of the few places where you can collect a government pension without ever having paid a dime in taxes.
The targets were the BAYT synagogue on Clark Avenue in Thornhill and Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in Glencairn Avenue in the Toronto neighbourhood of North York, the JSN said.
Earlier in the week, a North York synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, was shot at shortly after a Purim celebration on Monday. Although no injuries were reported, the doors of the shul were littered with bullet holes and broken glass.
“We know that there are armed and dangerous thugs connected to the Islamic Regime living freely in Canada. Bullets are flying and it is only a matter of time before one of them hits an innocent person,” Michael Westcott, CEO of Alies for a Strong Canada, said in a statement Saturday morning.
York Region police say they found the front of the Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue damaged by gunfire. No one was injured in the incident, police say, adding a dark sedan was seen in the area at the time of the shooting.
apple.news
“Iran and its proxies have historically targeted Jewish and Israeli interests outside the Middle East,” the security agency launched by the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) wrote on Friday. “For this reason, it is important that communities remain alert and take sensible precautions.”
Earlier in the week, a North York synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, was shot at shortly after a Purim celebration on Monday. Although no injuries were reported, the doors of the shul were littered with bullet holes and broken glass.
“We know that there are armed and dangerous thugs connected to the Islamic Regime living freely in Canada. Bullets are flying and it is only a matter of time before one of them hits an innocent person,” Michael Westcott, CEO of Alies for a Strong Canada, said in a statement Saturday morning.
York Region police say they found the front of the Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue damaged by gunfire. No one was injured in the incident, police say, adding a dark sedan was seen in the area at the time of the shooting.
‘Bullets are flying': Two more Toronto-area synagogues hit by gunfire — National Post
These incidents follows another shooting of a Toronto synagogue on Monday
Well, sounds like they are kicked ant hill this morning.
WARMINGTON: Shooting at U.S. consulate changes the game in Toronto protesting's future — Toronto Sun
Easy access to University Avenue for demonstrators will be called into question
I saw that this morning. Might be a game changer. If Consulates are treated the same way as embassys, there could be a lot of US troops bunked there by tonight.Well, sounds like they are kicked ant hill this morning.
It’s not just synagogues and Jew schools being shot at anymore it seems. Have to wait for details.
WARMINGTON: Shooting at U.S. consulate changes the game in Toronto protesting's future — Toronto Sun
Easy access to University Avenue for demonstrators will be called into question
“I think it’s fairly obvious, based on the incidents that have occurred here in Toronto and elsewhere, that these consulates deserve a heightened amount of vigilance at this time, in hopes we can take the temperature down in the coming days and weeks,” Chief Superintendent Chris Leather with the RCMP in Ontario told a news conference held with Toronto police outside the U.S. consulate.
Toronto police Deputy Chief Frank Barredo, also at the news conference, said police are mindful of a recent series of incidents in which bullets were fired at three Toronto-area synagogues in just over one week.
The RCMP said police will be stepping up patrols and security around the consulate, the U.S. embassy in Ottawa and the Israeli consulate in Toronto.
U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra said, in a post on X, that the attack on the consulate was “deeply troubling,” and he was grateful no one was hurt.
Shooting at U.S. consulate in Toronto prompts increased security — Canadian Affairs
No one was injured in the shooting; Toronto police say it's too early to say if the shooting is linked to recent shootings at synagogues
“It is not lost on us that the city has unfortunately experienced similar types of events, extremely serious and very concerning shootings at synagogues, and this very much factors into how we will approach this matter as well,” he said.
Police speaking at the news conference said a white Honda CR-V pulled up outside the consulate at about 4:30 a.m. Tuesday.
Two men got out of the vehicle, and a handgun was used to fire multiple shots at the fortified building, Deputy Chief Barredo said.
“It is not lost on us that the city has unfortunately experienced similar types of events, extremely serious and very concerning shootings at synagogues, and this very much factors into how we will approach this matter as well,” he said.
Not sure where this “dark sedan” quote comes from, but that’s neither here nor there.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the shooting.
“We’ll use the full weight of resources and ensure that the perpetrators feel the full weight of justice,” Mr. Carney told journalists as he arrived Tuesday for Question Period on Parliament Hill.
Poilievre condemns 'gun attack' at U.S. consulate in Toronto — Global News
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre condemned the “gun attack” at the U.S. consulate in Toronto, after police found evidence that shots had been fired at the building. He said he’s become “increasingly concerned about how dangerous Canada has become” and blamed Liberal policies on...
Carney denounces shots fired at U.S. consulate in Toronto as intimidation — The Globe and Mail
RCMP say police will be stepping up patrols and security around the consulate
The legislation, which seeks to fulfill a campaign commitment Carney made to better protect places of worship from obstruction and intimidation, proposes doing so by introducing new offences targeted at activities that could impede someone’s access to such centres and other buildings where an identifiable group gathers.
The bill also includes a proposal to include as a part of existing Criminal Code provisions targeting the promotion of hate the display of certain terror symbols in public, such as the swastika and those linked to government-designated terrorist entities.
Hundreds of Muslim organizations tell Liberals they oppose anti-hate bill — National Post
Controversy has been brewing for months over the legislation
Fraser has defended that move as necessary to ensure the legislation passes, while accusing the Opposition Conservatives of obstructing its passage. He has also argued that religious freedoms were already guaranteed protection under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Khaled Al-Qazzaz, executive director of the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council, said in a press conference on Tuesday, where he was joined by imams and other Muslim community advocates, that during a recent meeting with Carney over his government’s decision to close its office dedicated to combatting Islamophobia, the prime minister heard directly from the community about Bill C-9.
That meeting took place in early February.
“He responded to this concern, specifically saying that there will be some language change and introduction that should make it better,” Al-Qazzaz said.
He nonetheless said he and other Muslim groups felt “ambushed” by the government’s move this week to limit further debate on the bill, calling the clarifying language the Liberals offered up around the removal of religious defences “not adequate and basically continues to exasperate the concerns that we have related to our religious freedom.”