Newsfeed & Content Library

An Ontario Court of Justice judge has found that a theft at a Toronto protest was motivated by bias, prejudice, or hatred against the Jewish community, rejecting a discharge and emphasizing denunciation and deterrence in sentencing. The decision underscores the serious impact of hate-motivated conduct and contributes to a growing body of case law recognizing the harm of antisemitic incidents in Canada.

ALCCA Chair Mark Sandler comments on expanded charges in the TMU case, including public incitement of hatred, riot-related offences, and mischief.

An examination of recent cases where criminal charges linked to antisemitic conduct and politically motivated vandalism were withdrawn, raising concerns about prosecutorial discretion, public safety, and the normalization of hate in Canada.

A Windsor court has sentenced Nicholas Amor to nearly two years in prison for inciting hatred against Jews and possessing weapons. The case underscores the real-world dangers of extremist hate speech and its impact on community safety.

Our latest legal update highlights a series of developments, including a public incitement of hatred charge arising from protests at Bathurst and Sheppard, a 20-year sentence in a terrorism case tied to extremist propaganda, new charges in an antisemitic threats investigation, and other recent cases.

Today, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice handed down a sentence of 20 years in the case of Matthew Althorpe, who pleaded guilty in October to three terrorism-related charges.

A recent decision by an Australian tribunal found that the chant “All Zionists are terrorists” constituted incitement of hatred against Jews and did not constitute protected political speech. The decision reinforces the importance of distinguishing between legitimate criticism of Israel and speech that crosses into hate. Its reasoning has clear relevance for how similar conduct should be assessed under Canadian law.

Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, B’nai Brith Canada, Canadian Women Against Antisemitism, Canadian Jewish Law Association, and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center welcomed the adoption of Bill C-9 by the House of Commons and urged Parliamentarians to advance more measures to confront Canada’s antisemitism crisis.

ALCCA’s Chair, Mark Sandler sharply criticizes the decision to lay charges of public incitement of hatred against a counter demonstrator at the Al-Quds Day protest, absurdly treating the Islamic Republic of Iran as a victim of hatred. This is doubly troubling given the frequent failure to prosecute legitimate cases of incitement of hatred against Jews and Israelis.

In this legal update, ALCCA’s Senior Criminal Counsel, Rochelle Direnfeld, reviews an Ontario court decision denying the Attorney General’s last-minute bid to halt the Al-Quds Day protest in Toronto. Following the demonstration, Toronto Police laid multiple charges in connection with incidents at the rally, also addressed in an editorial by ALCCA’s Chair, Mark Sandler. Direnfeld also reports on a separate hate crime case involving the playing of a Hitler speech outside a resi