Funding other countries’ militaries is not a charitable activity according to Canadian tax law. Yet some organizations granted charitable status by the Canada Revenue Agency funnel their donations to the Israel Defense Forces in clear violation of CRA regulations. Because donations are tax deductible, Canadian taxpayers are essentially subsidizing the IDF—whether they want to or not.

The Ford government’s adoption of the IHRA definition is troubling because it gives license to those who would like to paper over the institutionalized discrimination faced by nearly two million Palestinian citizens of Israel. It also harms other anti-racist initiatives by setting a troubling standard for freedom of expression while also threatening academic freedom.