In the leadup to Passover this will be a wide ranging column of my musings in the hope of reassuring some of you and your children when they see the new deployments of Toronto Police riot police bearing rifles and ‘counterterrorism’ units at synagogues and Hebrew schools.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/toronto-police-counter-terrorism-unit-rifles-toronto-9.7140751

Like many ordinary law abiding Canadians, I get anxious when I see police cars on the street or in my neighborhood.  It is usually NOT good news – it means a crime has been committed, or they are responding to a crime that has been committed.  I have waved cheerfully to police cars outside my synagogue on high holidays, as have my fellow congregants, even giving a thumbs up thank you to the attending officer, while inwardly wishing this was not necessary.

And even though I drive carefully at the speed limit, I have been known to take a detour and change lanes or take alternate routes home from the supermarket when an aggressive looking black and white supercharged police car or SUV is in the next lane.  Why?  I have nothing to hide.  Neither do many of you.

All Ontario police services are now under investigation by the Ontario Inspector General of Police following a recent corruption scandal involving Toronto Police officers linked to organized crime.  Toronto Police are trying to burnish their reputation with the community and are under increased scrutiny by the Ontario government, municipal government of Toronto, federal political representatives and media, not to mention members of our Jewish community at risk.

Not to belabor the point, but from my criminology research background I am aware that police have powers of surveillance and monopolies on the use of force and even the right to lie (true!) under existing legislation governing police practices, as in undercover investigations.  And we are also aware of the fact that existing criminal laws that could have been used to protect our Jewish community long before now have been underenforced.

Here is a recent report from the National Post from a Montreal community perspective:

https://nationalpost.com/opinion/to-protect-jews-canada-needs-to-enforce-existing-laws-not-create-new-ones

This perspective has also been addressed previously by Conservative MP Roman Baber of Toronto who wrote an open letter to Toronto Police urging that existing criminal laws be enforced.

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/toronto-mp-demands-public-safety-minister-crack-down-anti-jewish-hate

https://torontosun.com/news/local-news/toronto-jews-not-safe-mp-letter-to-mayor-top-cop

The pending hate crimes bill C-9 has just passed third reading in our Canadian Parliament, awaiting Senate approval before being proclaimed into law.  It adds  some welcome provisions to protect our community, but it is not nearly enough.  It has long been illegal in Canada to support or fund terrorist organizations, but sadly our federal bureaucracy has not yet deported or prosecuted many known to be in Canada illegally or to support these organizations, putting Canadians of all faiths at risk.

Here is the most recent statement from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, also supported by major Jewish advocacy organizations in Canada such as B’nai Brith Canada, Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies, the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, and others:

https://www.cija.ca/jewish_community_welcomes_house_passage_of_bill_c_9_urges_more_action_to_confront_canada_s_antisemitism_crisis

As much as our Jewish communities are dependent on police for their safety, and are forced to express their gratitude for the police services and deployments to which they are entitled as law abiding citizens and taxpayers at demonstrable risk, we should be more cognizant of potential risks and abuses.

We have been aware for some time that Canadian RCMP and CSIS officers have worked undercover to infiltrate militant Muslim and anti-Israel groups on campus, and I am concerned that they may be inciting them to appear more convincing.  Our RCMP remains woefully understaffed and prone to scandal.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/csis-students-university-muslim-campus-1.5229670

This incitement was the case in the notorious case of CSIS agent Grant Bristow, who simultaneously incited the neo-Nazi Heritage Front while seeking to infiltrate Jewish community organizations.  In light of the new deployments of police counterterrorism squads to Jewish sites at risk, our Jewish community would be wise to keep a respectful distance from overly inquisitive police who have already........

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