Senators call for action against antisemitism
The Senate human rights committee is calling for more education, better digital literacy and a federal task force on hate to fight a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes and acts of intimidation.
In a report tabled Tuesday, the committee is also asking Prime Minister Mark Carney's government to restore the antisemitism envoy role it scrapped in February.
"It is unacceptable to me and to our committee that a community of people should live in fear just because of who they are or what they believe in," committee chair Sen. Paulette Senior told a news conference on Parliament Hill.
The report follows a rise in gunfire, arson and vandalism attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools since October 2023, when Hamas militants attacked Israel, prompting Israel to bomb the Gaza Strip and triggering massive political shifts from Iran to Syria.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has drawn widespread condemnation for the high number of civilian deaths. Israel also has been widely denounced over rising settler violence in the West Bank and a series of policies targeting the rights of Palestinians.
The senators said that's led to protests in numerous Canadian cities and the vilification of Jewish Canadians over the policies of a foreign government.
"Some young Jewish students have opted to conceal their identity to avoid name-calling and bullying. Some working adults have said that they have felt a need to conceal synagogue affiliations or associations of Israel," Senior said.
"Their feeling that they have to hide their identity — that is something that personally broke my heart, in terms of how important it is for folks to be able to be completely self-expressed in who they are, and be proud of their identity."
Sen. Leo Housakos, who represents the Conservatives in the chamber, said it's wrong to allow conflicts in the Middle East to lead to discrimination in Canada. He said this has not happened to diaspora communities here in reaction to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the conflict in Cyprus or strife between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
"We are failing Canadians, and particularly the Jewish community," he said. "We need to get back to that equilibrium of peace and justice in our society — and quickly."
The senators also said the government was wrong to drop the role of envoy for fighting antisemitism and replace it — along with a separate envoy on Islamophobia — with a new advisory council on rights, equality and inclusion.
"We're concerned that this position has been eliminated and replaced with a broader structure whose mandate remains unclear. At a time like this, focus matters," said Sen. David Arnot.
"That is why we're calling for the reinstatement of the special envoy, alongside the accountability directly to Parliament. The special envoy did important work in building relationships and public education."
The senators said they are particularly alarmed by a rise in Holocaust denialism among youth and called on the federal government to capture data on hate and bias on digital platforms.
"We are losing the battle against Holocaust denial. What was once a matter of settled, historic and profoundly tragic fact now appears to be up for debate," Senior said.
The report also said Ottawa should help provinces do a better job fighting misinformation and hate in schools.
"Canadian education has failed. I think we need to focus on teaching students in grades K-12 the rights of Canadian citizenship, but the responsibilities that come with those rights. And in fact, the responsibility to respect your fellow citizen," Arnot said.
The report acknowledges that anti-Zionism is a factor in Canada but the senators said they chose not to take a stand on the matter.
Some Jewish advocates say rejecting Israel's existence as a Jewish state is inspiring attacks on Jews and being used as a cover for antisemitism. Other groups — including some run by Jewish critics of Israel — say justified criticism of how Israel treats Palestinians and Arabs has been wrongly conflated with anti-Jewish hate.
The report also chose not to weigh in on whether the definition of antisemitism endorsed by Ottawa has struck the right balance.
The government has endorsed the antisemitism definition put forth by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which says it can be antisemitic to level criticisms at Israel that are harsher than those directed at other democracies, to compare Israeli policies to those of the Nazis or to characterize the existence of the State of Israel as a racist endeavour.
Some academics argue this puts a chill on good-faith debate on Israeli policies.
Tuesday's report also did not say whether Ottawa has struck the right balance in C-9, legislation currently before the Senate which would allow for "bubble zones" that forbid certain types of protest around specific religious or cultural sites.
The senators stressed that Canadians must be able to discuss events in the Middle East with mutual respect and without blaming each other for events abroad.
"We have what I call these angry algorithms that are manufacturing rage, feeding content, isolation, alienation — where we need to get back to the human experience, sitting across the table from each other, sharing our stories, our commonalities," said Sen. Kristopher Wells.
"How do we equip young people to be able to have those conversations without shutting down (and) actually having those critical thinking skills?"
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 21, 2026.
By Dylan Robertson | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.