Ottawa, July 8, 2011 — The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, issued the following statement on yesterday’s release of the final report of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism:
“Following the release of the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism’s (CPCCA) final report, I want to take the opportunity to thank members of the CPCCA, and particularly its co-chairs, Scott Reid and Mario Silva, for their important work in investigating and combating the uniquely durable evil that is anti-Semitism.
“After two years of study, the CPCCA has concluded what has long been suspected: incidents of anti-Semitism are on the rise in Canada, and especially on university campuses, where ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’ has been a fixture in recent years.
“I am proud of the leadership role that Canada is taking to combat anti-Semitism together with all forms of racism and xenophobia. Last November in Ottawa, I joined fellow parliamentarians and experts from more than 50 countries at the second conference of the Inter-parliamentary Coalition for Combating Antisemitism (ICCA). The conference – which the CPCCA helped organize – ratified the Ottawa Protocol, which complements Canada’s efforts to engage the global community in the struggle against hatred and anti-Semitism.
“As Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said, ‘Anti-Semitism is a pernicious evil that must be exposed, that must be confronted, that must be repudiated, whenever and wherever it appears.’
“As Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, I applaud the CPCCA’s work in this regard, and I call on all Canadians to reject anti-Semitism. All forms of racism, discrimination and intolerance and xenophobia are unacceptable and completely contrary to Canada’s fundamental values.”
For further information (media only), please contact:
Candice Malcolm
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca
