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Conrad Black: The Carney government's Canada Day conundrums

If Canada wishes to be taken seriously as a country, it has to behave like a serious country

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Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto several weeks ago and denounced antisemitism and stated that, “Unity is not uniformity … our differences are strengths to be nurtured, not risks to be managed.” All Canadians of at least the age of seven have heard similar remarks by public figures, but they do not address the requirement of the comprehensive defence of minorities, and in particular the Jewish population. Carney flattered himself and his government for introducing Bill C-9, the Combating Hate Act, which has been described in this column before and has raised more concerns about the curtailment of freedom of expression than comfort for threatened minorities.

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Of greater use perhaps was the additional $75 million provided to the Canada Community Security Program, designed to strengthen the defences of houses of worship against hate-motivated incidents. In a statement, Carney assured that, ”Our government will always protect the inalienable right of the Jewish people to live openly in freedom, safety and dignity. Protection is fundamental, but not sufficient. The Jewish community must be able to flourish in every aspect of Canadian society.” To promote this admirable and undoubtedly sincere view he announced a ministerial........

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