QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion
June 3, 2026
My question is for the government leader.
This past Monday, the Prime Minister stood at a synagogue in Toronto and announced the creation of a faith advisory council tasked, among other things, of course, to combat anti-Semitism, which is noble enough. It took many years for this Liberal government to take action on this scourge that the Jewish community is facing.
Yet over a month ago, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights published a report on anti-Semitism that we sent to the Prime Minister. This report was conducted over a period of a year, and we heard from dozens of witnesses. The report has 22 concrete recommendations, all ready to go, yet the Prime Minister is brushing them off and putting into place another advisory committee.
Will you agree that it is not time for talk but for action? Since the Senate did its work, the report and recommendations are there. Why isn’t the government following those recommendations?
The government is extremely concerned. I think the Prime Minister was clear on that question, having heard about reports of gunfire hitting a Jewish-owned restaurant in North York.
The government is strengthening the Canada Community Security Program and increased its budget by $10 million to specifically protect Jewish places of worship, schools and community centres.
Senator Housakos, you know that the commitment of the government is not only a commitment but an action, and that’s exactly what the Prime Minister is doing. By implementing and putting in place a new committee, the government wants to have a clear picture of what is happening and what should be done, and this is exactly the reason why the Prime Minister announced the committee you just mentioned.
If the government were committed in terms of action to fight anti-Semitism, it wouldn’t put into place another advisory committee to duplicate the robust work that a standing Senate committee or a parliamentary committee has already done for them.
It raises two questions here: Is the government not really that committed in a tangible way to fighting anti-Semitism, or, more importantly, does the government have absolutely no confidence in the parliamentary process and in this very institution and the work that our committee did?
I disagree with the last part of your introduction. I think that $10 million is quite a clear action. The new committee that the government announced has a very clear mandate to reassess, develop, improve and measure government action for all groups, including the Jewish community, facing historical and systemic injustices.
It’s a very serious matter, and the government is acting accordingly.
