A Critical Leadership Void: The Unfilled Special Envoy Role
- Mark Sandler
- Nov 16
- 5 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
In this editorial, I am calling upon all community members and organizations to write to Prime Minister Carney, the Heritage Minister, and MPs to immediately address the serious issue raised by the absence of a Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.
In mid-July, Deborah Lyons resigned as Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism. Four months later, the federal government has not named her successor.
There has never been a more pressing time for advocacy to combat antisemitism within and outside government. Hate crimes and discriminatory conduct targeting Jews are at unprecedented levels. Despite representing only 1% of the population, Jews are the victims of 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes in Canada. Antisemitic incidents at universities, colleges, and schools are disturbingly high (see for example, the levels of antisemitism in Ontario’s K-12 space). Even these numbers understate the problem, due to underreporting explained by either fear or scepticism that institutions will do anything. As well, a number of Jews, although targeted, do not self-describe based on their religion, but instead based on their ethnicity, culture or ancestry.
Canada adopted the IHRA definition of antisemitism and its illustrations, together with 42 other countries, and many other institutions. Canada also published a Handbook explaining how IHRA can best be used as a non-binding tool, to guide decision-making. Deborah Lyons championed IHRA and the accompanying Handbook.
However, the IHRA definition is under attack – not merely by those who debate some of its language or scope, but by those who refuse to acknowledge, contrary to IHRA, that antisemitism can be manifested by anti-Zionist fervour: for example, by demonizing everyone, without distinction, who supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish democratic state or by collectively holding Canadian Jews responsible for the actions of Israel, a foreign government. These anti-Zionists oppose IHRA because they oppose any acknowledgement of Israel’s right to exist.
The situation is compounded by the continuing activism of Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. To be clear, these two offices, both operating within Heritage Canada (also referred to as the Department of Canadian Heritage), should not be incompatible with each other. There should be common cause in combatting both antisemitic and anti-Muslim hatred and discrimination.
However, there are legitimate concerns that Ms. Elghawaby is using her office to advance a political agenda on the Middle East and recklessly promoting the inclusion of Anti-Palestinian Racism (APR) as part of anti-racist strategies, without disavowing the widely-used definition of APR that effectively demonizes all Zionists as racist, antithetical to a legitimate anti-racism strategy.
In November 2024, I wrote to Ms. Elghawaby, asking that she clarify her position on campus speech targeting Zionists, publicly denounce the demonization of all Zionists as racist, and affirm that respectful dialogue must include those who support Israel’s right to exist. She did not respond to my letter.
Some, including Jewish community members, have suggested that the solution lies in abolishing both offices, an understandable response to the unacceptable status quo that currently exists. However, in my view, this is not a tenable answer to what the Jewish community is experiencing within and outside government.
APR is tacitly being supported by decision-makers within government, despite its incompatibility with official government policy. For example, Heritage Canada agreed to provide:
$99,950 to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association for a project entitled, “Understanding Anti-Palestinian Racism: Educational Resources and Training for Inclusive Practices.” The duration of the contract extends from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. It is this Association’s definition of APR that is so toxic, by treating as anti-Palestinian racists all those who fail to accept Palestinian narratives about the creation of the State of Israel or who fail to acknowledge that Israel represents, in its entirety, occupied lands.
$2,000 to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association for French translation of its report: “Anti-Palestinian Racism: Naming, Framings and Manifestations.” The project took place in 2023, This is the report that promotes the toxic definition of APR.
$99,500 to Toronto Palestinian Families for a project entitled, Combatting Anti-Semitism and Anti-Palestinian Racism for All 2024. The duration of the contract extended from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025. This project raises similar concerns about how antisemitism and APR are being defined and addressed in government funded projects.
This month, at the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, Independent Jewish Voices, a fringe organization, repeatedly misrepresented what the IHRA definition and its illustrations stand for. ALCCA has prepared written submissions in response, but we should have a Special Envoy in place to lead the rebuttal of these misrepresentations and equally important, to promote the use of IHRA as a non-binding guide for law enforcement, governments, educators, and others.
Antisemitism, fed by those who distort the meaning of Zionism so as to demonize all Zionists, is now normalized in Canada. Prime Minister Trudeau declared he is a Zionist and that no one should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist. However, in many spaces, it is no longer safe for Canadians to declare themselves to be Zionists.
The need for a true advocate within government to fight this normalization of hate has never been more urgent.
Lend your voice to this call for action. You can send your message directly to Prime Minister Carney, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, and your Member of Parliament using the links and sample messaging below.
Send your message to:
Minister of Canadian Heritage – or copy the following email address: hon.steven.guilbeault@pch.gc.ca
Sample message you can send to government officials:
Subject: Urgent: Appointment of a New Special Envoy on Antisemitism
Dear Prime Minister Carney,
Canada has been without a Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism for four months. There has never been a more pressing need for advocacy to combat antisemitism within and outside government. Hate crimes targeting Jews are at unprecedented levels. Despite representing only 1% of the population, Jews are the victims of 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes in Canada.
Antisemitism has become normalized in Canada. It continues unabated. It often manifests as anti-Zionism. This isn’t about criticism of Israel, its conduct or policies. This is about the demonization and marginalization of all those (including about 94% of Canadian Jews) who support Jewish self-determination in their ancestral lands. Zionism, properly understood, is not incompatible with Palestinian self-determination, although its meaning has been distorted to delegitimize Israel’s very existence. Prime Minister Trudeau declared himself to be a Zionist and said that no one should be afraid in Canada to call themselves a Zionist. But in many Canadian spaces, it is no longer safe to call oneself a Zionist.
The need for a true advocate within government to fight this normalization has never been more urgent. I urge you to appoint a new Special Envoy immediately, to publicly reject efforts to demonize our community and delegitimize Israel’s very existence, and to address proactively the scourge of antisemitism in Canada.
Sincerely,
[Name]
[Organization, if applicable]
About The Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.