The Trudeau Government’s Fake Fight Against Antisemitism- Part 38

4B. He addressed the measures taken by other countries against Islamic Relief (Canada) the object of his formal complaint: These are:

a. In 2012, UBS cut ties with Islamic relief due to concern about counter-terrorist regulations;                                                                                                                                 
b. In 2014, the United Arab Emirates listed Islamic Relief Worldwide and Islamic Relief UK as a terrorist entities;                                                                                                                
c. In 2014, Israel banned Islamic Relief from the West Bank accusing Islamic Relief Worldwide of being  a source funding for  Palestinian Hamas Islamist movement;           
d. The same year, this led the U.K Charities Aid Foundation CAF) to remove Islamic Relief from its online donations page;                                                                                     
e. Again the same year, Financial Post of Canada removed Islamic Relief from its charity page since it’s international arm had been banned elsewhere [though not in Canada] for allegedly  funnelling funds to terrorist organization Hamas,                              g. In 2015, HSBC Bank U.K  closed Islamic Relief accounts citing fears that money could  wind-up  with terrorist groups, and                                                                                   
g. In 2017, Bangladesh banned Islamic Relief to work with the Rohingya refugees.

4C. The most recent sequel to the Quiggin case happened during February of the current year. In response to the campaign of Islamic Relief Canada and others, the government agreed  to make  the necessary statutory amendments to the Criminal Code in order  to permit Canadian taxpayers to send  Afghanistan tax-deductible funds, supposedly charitable funds, without any assurance that at destination the funds will not be used to finance terrorism 

According to its own records, Islamic Relief Canada donated over the $35 million to its parent organisation, the Islamic Relief Worldwide which has been accused of using “charitable funds to provide material support to terrorism”. Susannah Johnston, Canadian Islamists Celebrate Prospect of Tax –Deductible Funds going to Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan, Focus on Western Islamism, February 9,,2023

Kevin Vuong, an Independent Member of Parliament, tabled a Citizen’s petition (e-3858 Social Affairs and Equality) in the House of Commons calling for the Government of Canada to deny funding to NGOs  that engage in antisemitism. B’nai Brith, publication of June 8, 2022. 

As to be expected, the government’s written response avoided  the substance of the petition. Instead, the author of the response, Rob Oliphant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, delivered a self-congratulatory thoroughly sanitized statement in praise of the government’s performance in terms of principles, initiatives and financial contributions.