Montreal, October 17, 2022 - CJPME sent a letter to Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth, with concerns about the possibility that Canada Heritage may force third-party grantees to sign an attestation form in support of IHRA in order to receive government funding. This poses a serious threat to free expression and may amount to a violation of charter rights. Read the full letter below, or click here to download a PDF version.

Montreal, September 8, 2021  — This week, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) issued its “Vote 2021 Elections Guide,” evaluating the record and promises of the five largest federal parties on Palestine-Israel and other Middle East issues. The guide evaluates the parties on ten different Middle East issues according to a number of different criteria, including 1) their support for international law; 2) their consistent application of international law; 3) their eschewal of armed violence; 4) their humanitarian concern; 5) their support for representative governance; and 6) their sense of urgency in responding to crises.

Earlier this week, B’nai Brith Canada launched a smear campaign against the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), accusing the union of both supporting terrorism and aligning itself with “the path of violence and extremism.” This accusation comes amidst a CUPW decision to engage in a joint project with the Palestinian Postal Service Workers Union (PSWU), which B’nai Brith is smearing as a “pro-terrorist” organization. 

But let’s be honest, the CUPW is under attack simply for showing solidarity with Palestinians.  

Montreal, October 26, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) applauds Dr. David Kattenburg for his application for judicial review of the decision of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in a matter of wines mislabelled as “Product of Israel.”  Kattenburg had originally filed a complaint in March to the CFIA demonstrating that the wines in question were actually being produced in the West Bank – a territory never attributed or recognized as being part of Israel proper. The CFIA ultimately decided that it would allow the wines to continue to be imported and labelled as “Product of Israel” concluding that the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement (CIFTA) overrode Canadian consumer protection laws.

Montreal, August 8, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) seeks to draw attention to Dr. David Kattenburg, a Winnipeg resident who lodged formal complaints with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) earlier this year over the mislabelling of wines produced in Israel’s colonies (aka “settlements”) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). In his persistent fight to hold the CFIA accountable to their own standards, yesterday Dr. Kattenburg filed to appeal the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s decision to allow the continued mislabelling of wines from Israeli colonies. 

Montreal, July 18, 2017  — Last week, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) issued a press release praising the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) decision to discontinue the importation of wines from Israeli colonies (aka “settlements”) mislabelled as “products of Israel.” CJPME is disappointed to learn that the CFIA has retracted its initial decision.  CJPME disagrees with this latest flip-flop, and believes the government's posture prioritizes Israeli business interests over the consumer protection of Canadians, and the human rights of Palestinians.

Between January 25 and February 2, 2017, EKOS Research Associates conducted a national on-line survey of 1,000 Canadians to explore attitudes toward Israel, Palestine, and related issues here in Canada.  EKOS statistically weighted all the data by age, gender, education and region to ensure the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual population of Canada, based on census data.  The margin of error associated with the sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  The results summarized below are based on respondents who expressed an opinion.   

CJPME Political Blog, Nov. 10, 2016: Last week, the Vancouver Sun printed a remarkable apology to Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) Canada.   The Sun editorial board had published a piece in August claiming that IJV – a Jewish organization – had denied the Holocaust and encouraged terrorism against Israelis.  The only problem was, they were dead wrong.

Many people in Ontario are alarmed to learn that provincial premier Kathleen Wynne has accepted an invitation to be honoured by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) on June 22.  While Wynne is indeed worthy of honour for a number of her accomplishments, CIJA’s objectives stand opposed to many things Wynne has worked for in her political career.  Wynne has stood for diversity and fairness, and for respect of Indigenous rights, yet CIJA works to deny the indigenous Palestinian people their human rights and civil rights in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.  

Montreal, October 24, 2013  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) intends to appeal the Toronto Transit Commission’s (TTC) rejection of ads about various aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  CJPME learned Monday, Oct. 21, that its ads had been rejected by TTC staff. The centerpiece of the ads is a series of four maps depicting Palestinian loss of land over the past six decades, ultimately obstructing the creation of a viable Palestinian state.  In its rejection, TTC staff asserted that CJPME’s ads did not comply with the guidelines of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards, but did not specify what aspects of the ads were non-compliant.