Groups demand Montreal 'play a more active role' combating antisemitism
Community groups in Montreal are calling for more to be done to stop antisemitism in the wake of hateful symbols being spray painted on a local synagogue.
Several people gathered Tuesday in front of Bagg Street Shul in the Plateau, which was defaced with swastikas last week.
"They had no fear, they took their time doing it. It actually looked very symmetrical so it was quite shocking," said Sam Sheraton, a member of the synagogue and son of Holocaust survivors.
The swastikas have since been removed. Montreal police are investigating the incident, but have not yet made any arrests.
"People of good faith who live and belong, they should be able to live and belong in freedom and free from acts of hate," said Henry Topas, the Quebec regional director of B’nai Brith Canada.
When community groups heard what happened to one of Quebec’s oldest synagogues, they mobilized in solidarity, denouncing the incident and calling on the city to do more.
"We hope to come up with — in the next few weeks — with some concrete ideas and measures to work with the City of Montreal, which has to play a more active role with the police and other agencies to develop what I call a new Montreal action plan to combat hate," said Fo Niemi, who heads the civil rights group Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR)
GROUP ALSO WANTS PROVINCE TO STEP IN
"Quebec should follow the example of Ontario and develop a curriculum that is age-appropriate and will help people understand what the Holocaust was," said Marvin Rotrand, national director of B’nai Brith’s League of Human Rights.
Last year, Ontario announced it would introduce mandatory Holocaust education to the Grade 6 curriculum in an attempt to help stop rising antisemitism in schools.
B'nai Brith said it believes a change to the curriculum could help lower the number of hate-motivated incidents in Montreal, where the number is the highest in the country.
The organization's 2021 report showed a 20 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents in Quebec.
Its 2022 report is set to be released later this month.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.