On September 15, Palestinian human rights organization Al-Haq and the Canadian not-for-profit group Just Peace Advocates submitted a report to the recently appointed United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, calling for Montréal-based WSP Global Inc. (WSP) to be included in a UN database of businesses operating in illegal Israeli settlements.

CRA rules state that “supporting the armed forces of another country is not” charitable. Yet newly released files confirm that the Canadian Zionist Cultural Association, a registered charity based in Toronto, supports the Israeli military. Canadian taxpayers should not be subsidizing an apartheid state, nor an Israeli military that is actively oppressing Palestinians.

The colonization of Kashmir has been unfolding for more than half a century, marking a direct assault on local culture and identity, the rapid expropriation of land, heightened economic marginalization, and the accelerated forces of settler-colonialism. We must insist that Canada take leadership to pressure the Indian government and push for the realization of self-determination for the people of Kashmir.

If Canada is serious about holding Israel to account, it must do more than put forward symbolic votes at the UN. Only when the Trudeau government begins to listen to Palestinian voices and rejects the leading proponents of the “new anti-Semitism” thesis which seeks to label criticism of Israel as a form of anti-Jewish discrimination, will we be capable of moving forward together.

On September 20, Bob Rae and Stephen Lewis spoke to the CBC’s Piya Chattopadhyay about the UN’s 75th anniversary and the institution’s continued relevance in the world. Both Rae and Lewis talked about what can be done to protect multilateralism, but failed to address why Canada’s anti-Palestinian voting record at the UN has played a role in our declining reputation in the world.