Canada in crisis: Gov't to convene national forum after Jewish school shooting, synagogue arson

In the wake of the shooting of a Toronto Jewish school and the firebombing of a Montréal synagogue, the Canadian government announced on Friday that it would hold a forum to combat rising levels of antisemitism in the country.

The National Forum on Combating Antisemitism, according to Canada’s Justice Department, to be held in Ottawa in February, is set to bring together political, federal, provincial, and municipal bodies along with law enforcement and prosecutorial leaders to discuss short and long-term actions to address antisemitism in the country.

“Canada has seen a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents, threats, and hate crimes. The Government of Canada recognizes the urgent need for national leadership to ensure Jewish Canadians feel safe in their synagogues, schools, and communities,” the Justice Department said in a press release.

“This forum reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to protecting everyone in Canada and addressing hate in all its forms,” it added.

Canada’s Mental Health and Addictions Minister Ya’ara Saks (Liberal Party) said on social media on Friday that she and her colleagues advocated for the forum because it was their duty to ensure that every Canadian community felt safe.

“Tackling the scourge of antisemitism requires ‘the whole of society approach,’” the York Centre MP said on X/Twitter.

Canada’s Conservative Party’s MP Melissa Lantsman issued scathing criticism in response to Saks, arguing that the Liberal-led government had been unresponsive for 14 months as hate crimes had skyrocketed.

Canadian Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism Deborah Lyons also said on Friday that the forum was a long time coming but that antisemitism should be a bipartisan issue. She welcomed leaders from all parties to attend it.

“Jews are the number one targets of reported hate crimes in Canada despite making up just over 1% of the population,” Lyons said on X. “Antisemitism shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which in November had called for the convening of a forum for combating hate crime, terrorism, and antisemitism, called on leaders to seize the opportunity to drive urgent change.

Calling for urgent change 

“Police need more resources and specialized training. Laws need to be enforced, charges need to be laid, and perpetrators must be fully prosecuted to end the domination of our streets by extremists.“The glorification of terrorism must finally be made a criminal offense in this country,” Richard Marceau, the CIJA’s vice president, said in a press release.“Through the Forum, we will push for these and other concrete measures. But what we won’t accept are photo ops and platitudes,” he added.

MARCEAU SAID that Canadian Jews were frightened as they observed how the rhetoric in protests had glorified terrorism and how this gradually led to mass vandalism, where Jewish sites had repeatedly been subject to shootings, firebombings, and graffiti.

“In the past few days alone, a synagogue in Montréal was targeted for arson, and a Jewish girl’s school in Toronto was struck by gunfire,” Marceau said on Friday.

“These are just the latest examples of an escalating threat we’re seeing across Canada. The safety of our community is under attack – and so too are the values and way of life that define us as Canadians,” he said.

The Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School was damaged in a drive-by shooting on Friday, according to the Toronto Police Service, but the school was closed at the time, and the gunfire caused no injuries to staff or students.

The United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation of Greater Toronto said that students had returned to the school on Friday after what had been the third shooting against the institution. It was attacked for the first time in May and then again during Yom Kippur in October.

The same night as the school shooting, a large, community menorah was knocked down in North York, according to a UJA Federation press release. The Toronto Police Service said on social media that the menorah was knocked down in a drunk driving accident.  

As Toronto law enforcement units increased their presence around Jewish sites and appealed for public assistance in identifying the culprits, Canadian opposition leaders attacked Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the newest incident.

“After nine years of New Democratic Party-Liberals, our people are living in fear. Hate and violence are on the rise, and Trudeau does nothing,” Conservative Party leader Pierre Polievre wrote on X on Friday.

LANTSMAN SAID that Canada had become more dangerous for Jews under Trudeau’s government, which she noted was “wounded,” likely in reference to Chrystia Freeland’s resignation last Monday in the face of economic and diplomatic troubles. Freeland was Canada’s finance minister and deputy prime minister.

“Another day brings another cowardly act of antisemitic hate, and it’s well overdue that the government does something... anything to protect Canadians,” Lantsman said on Friday. “He [Trudeau] should address the country rather than obsess over his own political drama.”

Trudeau's response 

Trudeau said Friday that the shooting had sickened him.

“This is a hateful, antisemitic attack on Toronto’s Jewish community,” he said on social media.

Trudeau had faced similar criticism from Polievre after incendiary devices were thrown at the Montréal Beth Tikvah Synagogue and the Dollard-des-Ormeaux West Island CJA’s building on Wednesday.

Polievre called on the government to “finally show a backbone” and “protect our people” after both buildings suffered damage from the fires.

The CIJA also criticized Montréal Mayor Valerie Plante for the “abject failure” of a “wait-and-see strategy” against anti-Jewish behavior.

“This is the seventh time that a Jewish institution has been directly targeted in Montréal and the second time that these two institutions were targeted in the last 14 months,” the CIJA said on X.

According to a CJA Wednesday statement, Plante had to act immediately – the Montréal Jewish community was outraged, and the silent moderate Quebec majority was disgusted by the extremism and violence displayed.

Plante assured on social media that the police in Montréal were investigating the incidents and that they would find the culprits, adding that it was “intolerable that Montréal citizens lived in insecurity because of their religion.”

BOTH INCIDENTS garnered international attention, with President Isaac Herzog speaking to Trudeau to express concern about the “intolerable wave of antisemitic attacks.”Herzog said on social media that he stressed that words would not be enough and that decisive action and legislation were needed.

The US Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, Deborah Lipstadt, said on Friday that Montréal and Toronto joined Melbourne and Cape Town as cities that had seen Jewish communities attacked.

Canada no longer safe for Jews? 

Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Minister Amichai Chikli and Canada’s Liberal Party MP Anthony Housefather clashed over social media on Saturday after the Israeli leader claimed that Canada was no longer safe for Jews.

Housefather asserted that while antisemitism had risen, Chikli’s remarks were “false and exaggerated.”

Canada remained “one of the best places in the world for Jews to live,” Housefather wrote.

The announcement regarding the forum came after Canada’s Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights (JUST) issued a report last Tuesday with a series of recommendations for tackling antisemitism.

Included in the report was a recommendation to legislate increased protection in order to fortify community buildings and houses of worship against demonstrations.

The Toronto City Council directed the city manager on Tuesday to draft a bylaw by the first quarter of 2025 to address the impact of demonstrations in public spaces.

Michelle Stock, the CIJA’s Ontario vice president, welcomed the endeavor in a Thursday statement but said that the bylaw had to have punitive measures and enforcement powers to address “demonstrations marked by antisemitic chants, hateful signs, and physically intimidating behavior” that had “targeted synagogues, schools, and community centers” for over a year.

According to Stock, Toronto was the latest city to consider so-called “bubble bylaws,” with the Oakville Town Council passing a motion last Monday to develop a bylaw that would prevent protests from impeding access to “vulnerable social infrastructure.”

B’nai Brith Canada said on Tuesday that the bylaw was a victory for all religious communities and would protect places of worship.

In June, the Vaughan Council passed the Protecting Vulnerable Social Infrastructure Bylaw.

Critics of these bubble bylaws argue that such legislation could infringe on freedom of expression and assembly, criminalizing peaceful protests unrelated to the institutions themselves.

Oakville-Halton 4 Palestine started a letter campaign calling for Oakville not to pass the bubble bylaw, with almost 5000 letters sent by Sunday.