Canadian Jewish groups decry axing of antisemitism envoy in favor of equality council |
JTA — Canadian Jewish groups are denouncing a government decision to replace the country’s antisemitism and Islamophobia envoys with a new “Rights, Equality and Inclusion” council.
The new advisory council, announced by the Canadian government on Wednesday, is billed in a press release as aiming to “foster social cohesion, rally Canadians around shared identity, combat racism and hate in all their forms, and help guide the efforts of the Government of Canada.”
The press release said appointees would be “prominent Canadians from academia as well as experts and community leaders” named at some point in the future.
“The new Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion will help build a more inclusive and united Canada; one grounded in our shared values, with a strong focus on community involvement, and rooted in the belief that far more unites us than divides us,” Marc Miller, the Canadian minister of identity and culture, said in a statement.
The announcement comes more than six months after the country’s last antisemitism envoy, Deborah Lyons, resigned abruptly, saying she was exhausted by “the fact that it was hard to get people to speak up” about antisemitism in Canada. The antisemitism role also included responsibility for Canada’s official Holocaust remembrance.
Last month, Simon Wolle, the CEO of B’nai Brith Canada, called for the position........