Communities are not built in theory. They are built in presence. They depend on people feeling safe enough to walk through the door, to gather, to participate, to be visible.
Judaism is not something we observe from a distance. We gather. We show up. We pray together, learn together, and support one another in real and tangible ways. Some of our most sacred prayers require a quorum. When people do not feel safe enough to walk through our doors, our way of life and our community itself are at risk.
I felt this during the COVID pandemic. I briefly returned to the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver the day after it had closed. The temperature outside was nearly identical to the day before, yet, inside, the building felt profoundly different. It was not just empty. It was cold. The absence of people had stripped the space of its soul. A body without a soul is not life.
In the months following Oct. 7, 2023, I feared that feeling would return. Not because of a public health crisis, but because of something more insidious: fear, intimidation, extremism. The kind of pressure that makes people hesitate, questioning whether it is safe enough to attend school, synagogue or community programming. When that happens, the consequences are not abstract. They are immediate and deeply human. A community begins to shrink, not by choice, but by necessity.
Leadership in these moments requires clarity. We do not retreat. We do not disappear. And we do not accept intimidation as the cost of living openly as Jews.
That resolve is made possible by those who stand watch so that we can stand together.
Across British Columbia, officers from the Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP and other security services have maintained a consistent presence outside Jewish schools, synagogues and community institutions. Their role is not symbolic. It is practical, preventative and deeply human. It allows parents to send their children to school with confidence. It allows seniors to attend services without hesitation. It allows a community to remain visible.
One officer said something that has stayed with me: “I don’t weigh in on politics. I’m here to protect everyone. But, if I can choose between being spit on or being hugged, I’ll take a hug any day.” That simple statement speaks to the humanity behind the uniform, the quiet dignity of service, and the emotional toll that often goes unseen.
Jewish tradition teaches that saving a single life is considered to have saved an entire world. Protecting our community means safeguarding thousands of those worlds. Not buildings. People.
Jan. 9 is recognized as Law Enforcement Appreciation Day. Most people do not mark it on their calendars. But, for communities like ours, the sentiment behind it is not confined to a single day. For our community, every day is Jan. 9.
At a time when law enforcement officers face criticism, threats and, at times, violence simply for doing the work we rely on, it matters to say this clearly: gratitude is not political. It is human. It must be voiced, not assumed.
To those who stand outside our schools, our synagogues and our community spaces, ensuring that we can continue to gather safely and openly, we say thank you. Strong communities do not endure by accident. They endure because people show up and because others make it possible for them to do so.
Ezra Shanken is chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of British Columbia.
ראש ממשלת קנדה מארק קרני, הבין מהר מאוד עם מי יש לו עסק והכוונה לנשיא ארצות הברית דונלד טראמפ. קרני קלט מהר שטראמפ הוא נוכל סדרתי ומנהיג שאי אפשר לסמוך עליו. עד עידן טראמפ ארה”ב וקנדה נחשבו לבעלות הברית הקרובות ביותר בעולם במשך עשרות שנים. הגבול המשותף ביניהן שהוא הגבול היבשתי הארוך ביותר בעולם, רק הוסיף לקרבה בין שתי המדינות שנחשבו לאחיות
קנדה נחשבה לשותפה טבעית של ארה”ב בכל נושא ונושא, מהכלכלי ועד הצבאי ומה שביניהם. אך מעת הגעתו של טראמפ הנוכל לבית הלבן הכל השתנה. פתאום קנדה מצאה עצמה במשבר עמוק עם ארה”ב והבינה שהעולם השתנה. קרני ביטא זאת בראיונות לתקשורת כשכאמר שאנו נמצאים כיום במציאות שונה לעומת העבר
טראמפ כהרגלו התחיל לאיים על קנדה לשדבריו עושקת את ארה”ב, למרות שביוזמתו נחתם הסכם מסחרי חדש עם קנדה ומקסיקו בקדנציה הראשונה שלו. אז מה עם טראמפ לא עומד בהסכמים ובמילותיו? הרי הוא גם ביטל את ההסכם הגרעין בין ארה”ב לאיראן שכלל גם את שאר המעצמות ומדינות אירופה. מרבית מומחי הביטחון בישראל ובארה”ב טענו שמדובר היה בהסכם טוב, אך טראמפ שמע בעצת ראש ממשלת ישראל בנימין נתניהו, וביטל את ההסכם. את התוצאות של המעשה החמור הזה אנו רואים עתה במזרח התיכון שנמצא במלחמה אזורית הרסנית
טראמפ לא רק שאיים על קנדה במכסים גבוהים (שבינתיים הוכרזו כלא חוקיים על ידי בית המשפט העליון של ארה”ב), אלה גם החליט שקנדה היא המדינה החמישים ואחת של ארה”ב. וכדי להמשיך ולעלוב בקנדה הוא כינה את קרני מושל קנדה, במקום ראש ממשלת קנדה
כאמור קרני קלט עם מי יש לו עסק. ואחד שמבין בכלכלה בניגוד לטראמפ הנוכל, לאחר ששימש נגיד הבנק המרכזי של קנדה ושל בריטניה, הוא חיפש אלטרנטיבות כלכליות לארה”ב. קרני הבין שקנדה לא תוכל לסמוך עוד על שכנתה מדרום – לפחות בעידן טראמפ – והוא חיפש אטרנטיבות. בשלב ראשון נחתם הסכם סחר חדש עם סין שכולל מכירת רכבים חשמליים לקנדה. ההתקרבות בין קנדה לסין היא באחריות טראמפ חסר האחריות. קרני לא עצר ובשבועות האחרונים חתם על הסכמי סחר עם עוד שלוש מדינות גדולות וחזקות: הודו, יפן ואוסטרליה
קרני גם מתקרב מאוד למדינות אירופה כולל האיחוד האירופי ובריטניה ולכל אלה יש מחנה משותף אחד. לנהל עסקים ביחד ולהימנע כל ככל האפשר לעבוד עם טראמפ, שכידוע אי אפשר ואסור לסמוך עליו
קרני גם מנסה לארגן מחדש את העיניינים בתוך קנדה בכל הרמות. מצד אחד הממשלה הפדרלית תחת הנהגתו מתקרבת יותר ויותר לממשלות של המחוזות השונים בקנדה. ומצד שני היא עוזרת למחוזות לשנות חוקים ותקנות שונות שיאפשרו להגביר את המסחר בתוך קנדה, ולהוריד חסמים שונים ומשונים
זה לא פשוט להפסיק להיות תלוי בארה”ב הגדולה והחזקה אך כשאין ברירה בעידן טראמפ הנוכל, חייבים להיות עצמאיים. תהליך כואב ונחוץ זה להערכתי יימשך לפחות כעשור ובסיכומו קנדה תהיה מדינה חזקה ועצמאית יותר, ותמשיך להסתכל לכיוון אירופה והמערב במקום לדרומה
גם לאזרחי קנדה יש מה להגיד על מדיניותו החולנית של טראמפ והם נוקטים מעשה: מספר התיירים הקנדיים שמבקר את ארה”ב הולך ופוחת משמעותית מאז שטראמפ נכנס לבית הלבן. מספר התיירים הקנדיים שמגיעים לארה”ב כבר פחת בארבעים אחוז לעומת אשתקד. השינוי המשמעותי הזה גורם לכלכת ארה”ב נזק משמעותי ביותר שנאמד בכמה מיליארדי דולרים
Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, spoke with Canadian media on March 9. (photo from Consulate General of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada)
A terror attack against Canadian Jews on par with the Bondi Beach attack in Australia last December is inevitable if leaders in this country do not address the growing antisemitism crisis, according to Israel’s deputy foreign minister.
In an interview with the Independent Monday, Sharren Haskel reacted to recent shootings at Toronto synagogues and a larger trend of antisemitic acts.
“This will end in blood if the government is not taking serious actions. This is going to end exactly like the Bondi massacre,” she said.
Haskel is attuned to the Canadian situation because she was born in this country – one of only three Canadian-born individuals in Israeli history to sit in the Knesset. Her father lives in Canada and she has other family members here, who she visits frequently.
“I was always so proud of Canada being such a safe haven for Jews,” she said, calling Canada a place where acceptance of minorities, tolerance and coexistence have been strong, defining values.
“And to know where Canada was and where it is today is absolutely devastating,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking for me, and I think that not enough people truly understand the danger the Jewish community is [facing].”
Shootings at Jewish institutions and other acts of vandalism and violence have made Canada, according to an Israeli government report last year, the “champion on antisemitism.”
“It’s insane,” said Haskel.
When a racialized or other minority community in Canada expresses discomfort with a situation, she said, significant steps are taken to alleviate the problem.
Jews do not enjoy a parallel level of empathy, she said. “[Jews] say I am violently being attacked. I’m not allowed to enter my classes. I’ve been beaten. My business was shot at,” she said. “And nothing. Nothing.”
Elected officials have allowed the situation to go too far, said Haskel.
“The government is not setting a very clear red line,” she said. “We are far beyond words. Words don’t matter anymore. This is about actions now.”
The deputy foreign minister added that Canadians, too often, demonstrate inappropriate responses to international events. Critics of Israeli military approaches to Hamas and to the Iranian regime are coming from a place of privilege.
“In Canada, you are very lucky,” she said. “This is one of the most peaceful countries, you enjoy its freedom, and many people in the younger generation have received that freedom on a silver platter. This is not the case in the Middle East. Israel has faced a six-fronted war for the last two years against six different armies – all of them sponsored, trained, armed by this vile, fanatical regime in Iran.”
The Iranian regime has also undermined Israel’s neighbours, she noted, destroying Lebanon’s politics, social fabric and culture. In Syria, Iran backed the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which was overthrown in 2024 after a civil war in which the government explicitly targeted and murdered its own citizens, particularly minorities, killing at least 300,000 people and possibly as many as 650,000.
“It’s very easy to speak from a very comfortable, liberated place,” said Haskel. “But our reality in the Middle East is a very difficult and harsh one, where we are still fighting for our survival, for our freedom, for our rights as minorities here in this region against very extreme, radical, fanatical terrorist organizations and terrorist regimes.”
Haskel hedged on whether Israel’s war aim in the current conflict with Iran is regime change.
“The goal is to take out the long-term existential threat over Israel,” she said. “This is how we define it, and this is the goal of the war.”
That involves taking out Iran’s nuclear program, she said, as well as its ballistic missile program, and neutralizing the experts who are developing, manufacturing and advancing tools for mass destruction. This war is aimed at conclusively ending that threat, she said.
Past Israeli military and covert actions against the Iranian nuclear program resulted in continued Iranian determination to rebuild, according to Haskel.
“They didn’t get the message of our capability, of how determined we are that they will not be able to reach that master plan of annihilation of the state of Israel,” she said. “They’ve been working tirelessly on renovating, on re-creating, on reconstructing, all of that over again. And we are at the point where we say, look, you know, we cannot go every year into an operation like that to eliminate an immediate threat like a nuclear weapon, mass destruction, disruptive weapons.”
Haskel stops short of declaring whether that requires regime change, echoing US President Donald Trump, who has urged Iranians themselves to overthrow their government.
She is hopeful that the US-Israel actions will open a path “for the Iranian people to liberate themselves and to change these fanatical tyrants who have been abusing and torturing them for so many years.”
Should the regime be replaced by a Western-oriented government, the impacts would be broader than the Middle East. For example, Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, is engaged in drug trafficking and money laundering in Latin America to help fund their operations, she noted.
Haskel believes that the world should be grateful to the United States and Israel.
“President Trump and Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu are leading right now an effort to protect humanity,” she said. “Every leader and every sensible person around the world needs to ask themselves who they want as their friends and who would come to their help when they really needed it the most.
“During our time in history, when freedom, real freedom, is in danger,” she said, “we are very fortunate to have two leaders like Trump and Netanyahu that stood up and took actions to defend humanity, to defend Western democracies.”
Haskel said that representing Israel carries a profound responsibility not only to the country itself but also to Jewish communities around the world. For her, that responsibility is deeply personal, particularly when it comes to Canada, where she has such close ties. Hearing directly from relatives and friends about rising fear and insecurity has reinforced her sense of duty.
Haskel, who has served as deputy foreign minister since 2024, was first elected to the Knesset in 2015. She was born in Toronto to an Israeli father and a Moroccan mother who met in Paris. The family lived in Canada before moving to Israel when Sharren was a year old. She was raised in Kfar Saba and studied in the United States and Australia. First elected on the Likud slate, she joined Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party in 2021.
At rallies held across Canada after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and during the Israel-Hamas war, there were protesters holding antisemitic signs and hollering antisemitic slogans. Bill C-9 would amend the Criminal Code to strengthen existing hate-related offences. (photo from Canadian Handbook on the IHRA Working Definition of Antisemitism)
Parliament resumed last month after its winter break and one of the bills on the agenda for the new session could have significant repercussions for Jewish Canadians.
While Jewish organizations welcome most components of the proposed legislation, the most important message that its passage would send is that political leaders take hate crimes seriously, according to Jewish organizational spokespeople who were interviewed by the Independent.
Bill C-9 would amend the Criminal Code to strengthen existing hate-related offences. But legal experts and advocacy agencies admit there is no quick fix for the explosion of antisemitic rhetoric and violence in Canada and around the world.
The proposed legislation, which is now in committee stage, would create new offences for intimidation and for intentional obstruction of access to religious or cultural institutions, schools, daycares, seniors residences and cemeteries. It would also create a new hate-crime offence tied to crimes motivated by “hatred,” add a definition of “hatred” and create an offence related to publicly displaying certain hate or terrorist symbols in ways that promote hatred. If passed, the law would remove the requirement of provincial attorneys general to approve police-laid charges and instead place that decision on Crown prosecutors.
In a rare joint statement in December, five national organizations – the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, B’nai Brith Canada, the Alliance of Canadians Combatting Antisemitism, and Canadian Women Against Antisemitism – welcomed the bill. They also called for additional steps, including increased funding for community security and closing gaps in the country’s anti-terror laws. The statement further called for existing laws to be more vigorously and consistently enforced.
Despite the advocacy of community voices, and existing and proposed legislation, many Canadian Jews feel that antisemitic rhetoric and acts are getting worse, not better, and that few of the actions taken to stanch them are having the desired outcomes.
In British Columbia, for example, Vancouver police recommended charges against Charlotte Kates, a Vancouver resident who publicly called the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks “brave and heroic” and who led a rally in chants of “Long live October 7.” The recommendation has been on the desk of BC’s attorney general for more than 18 months. In an interview with the Independent late last year, Premier David Eby committed to providing an update on the case. Despite repeated follow-ups, the premier’s office has not yet responded with an explanation as to why no action has been forthcoming.
The Independent interviewed leaders in Jewish advocacy organizations, and a clear consensus emerged that expressions of political will may be as important as any particular piece of existing or new legislation.
While many people may feel things are on a downward trajectory, Dylan Hanley, senior vice-president, public affairs, for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, noted some areas of progress. For example, though the situation on Canadian university campuses is not perfect, he said, there have been improvements in terms of how administrations respond to problems.
Hanley also said credit should be given where due, and intelligence agencies and law enforcement have, crucially, prevented several potential disasters from happening in Canada. More must be done, however, including additional immigration screening around connections to terrorist groups, and maintaining vigilance around foreign interference in politics and civil society, he said.
Further investigation is required around possible foreign support for domestic agitators, said Hanley. Although there is no solid evidence, there has been much speculation about external funding of anti-Israel activities, especially given the apparent preparedness of domestic groups immediately after the 10/7 attacks, he said.
“Has anybody shown us the smoking gun?” Hanley asked. “No. Do we suspect at least that there are foreign funds going into some of these campaigns? Sure.”
Ensuring government support for community security is an ongoing issue, as funding is cyclical. But Hanley noted that, while this support is necessary, it is also a response to the problem, which requires leadership and action that gets at the root of the issue – radicalization combined with a major increase in antisemitism.
The proposed changes contained in Bill C-9 are largely a step in the right direction in his view, but Hanley says no single approach can eliminate the underlying problem of antisemitism and hatred.
“None of these things are silver bullets on their own,” he said. “And we don’t want to raise community expectations that there is a silver bullet here.”
The Jewish community is feeling very alone, he said, and is looking for someone to fix the problem. The consensus among all those interviewed for this story is that political leadership must set the tone.
“I think the biggest piece – and we deliver this message at every level of government in every interaction – is we need to see clear leadership on this,” Hanley said. “We need our leaders to come out and say, clearly, this isn’t OK. You can’t target communities in Canada because of anger or frustrations from conflicts going on overseas, and what starts with our community isn’t going to end with our community.”
Even before Oct. 7, 2023, antisemitism was an increasing problem in Canada – this photo comes from a Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ post about Ontario’s 2022 election. A lack of political will at all levels of government is one reason the problem continues to worsen. (photo from cija.ca)
Jewish Canadians are frustrated with what appears like constant buck-passing, he said.
“The university says, ‘Well, actually, this is the police’s job.’ The police say, ‘Well, you know, we haven’t gotten any political cover from the city.’ The city says it’s the province. The province says it’s the feds,” Hanley explained. “And then you go around in the circle again and the feds say, ‘We don’t get involved in law enforcement in individual cases.’”
Aron Csaplaros, BC regional manager for B’nai Brith Canada, echoed several of Hanley’s comments and lauded the Bill C-9 provision that would create a law that most Canadians probably think already exists.
“In Canada, we do not right now have a freestanding hate crime offence,” he said. Instead, the Criminal Code prohibits wilful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred. At present, acts motivated by hate are usually prosecuted under general offences like mischief or assault, while bias or hate can be treated only as an aggravating factor at sentencing.
With Bill C-9, prosecutors would be able to lay a specific hate-crime charge that makes bias or hatred part of the offence itself. This means that prosecutions can centre explicitly on antisemitic or hateful motivation, and sentencing may be more severe because the hate element would be built into the crime rather than treated as secondary.
Bill C-9 would also create a prohibition against harassing people outside religious institutions.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of expression and protest,” said Csaplaros. “But, at the same time, those rights cannot come at the expense of the freedom of others.”
His views about the way things are handled – or not – are similar to Hanley’s.
“I think there’s a lot of passing the buck and finger-pointing going on between various levels of law enforcement and government,” said Csaplaros.
Like the other spokespeople the Independent interviewed, Csaplaros said he is not criticizing law enforcement.
“Law enforcement really needs to be empowered. They need to ensure that officers are using all of the resources available to them,” he said. “That means that all levels of government –federal, municipal, provincial – need to support law enforcement by ensuring clear directives and ensuring that they have the mandate.”
Officers on the frontline may need more awareness of the laws and the extent or limitations of those laws, he said. Crown prosecutors and the
judiciary might benefit from refreshers as well, he added.
Education is key, he said, not just for people at the frontline of law enforcement but for all Canadians. B’nai Brith is calling for a national digital literacy campaign so that all people, but especially young people, have the tools to be able to differentiate fact from fiction, disinformation from legitimate disagreement.
Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, senior director of policy and advocacy for Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre, said education is a core mandate of her organization. In this context, she has seen how the realities facing Jewish Canadians are questioned or discounted.
The centre educates a broad range of audiences, including law enforcement, government officials and civil society leaders. Almost invariably, she said, when trainers show statistics of antisemitic hate crimes, hands shoot up in the audience to contest the numbers, to question the methodologies or otherwise call into doubt the prevalence of attacks on Jews. Part of this, she believes, is due to the pervasiveness of the myth of the “powerful Jew.”
“This sort of racist understanding of the Jew has compromised the ability of the society to really understand that, in fact, we are the targets,” she said.
Even when people are not challenging the evidence, said Kirzner-Roberts, there seems to be a fundamental disconnect between approaches to antisemitism and reactions to other forms of racism.
“The response that we so often hear is, ‘Well, it’s a free country,’” she said. “This is not the kind of expression that you would get if the target were, in my opinion, anyone other than Jews.” This societal double standard is a challenge, she said.
Like the others interviewed, Kirzner-Roberts believes that leadership and political will are crucial to turning the tide. That includes legislation like Bill C-9 and also enforcement of existing laws. “There is a lot of legislation already that is being far underutilized,” she said.
Systemic issues, though, are addressed by leadership at the political level.
“We’re seeing a lack of political will across the board, and I’m talking here [about] cities, provinces and on the federal level,” said Kirzner-Roberts.
In addition to addressing the rise in hate-motivated crime and closing loopholes in existing laws, she said, Bill C-9 is important because it drives home the message of political will onto police and prosecutors.
The federal government announced last week that they are eliminating the office of Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism.
The announcement came in conjunction with the decision to eliminate the similar office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, and the announcement that there will be a new Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion.
It is hard to find fault with the hope expressed by the government that the new council, which will be comprised of prominent Canadians from academia as well as experts and community leaders, will foster social cohesion, rally Canadians around shared identity, combat racism and hate in all their forms, and help guide the government’s work in fighting racism. However, cutting the one position in Ottawa explicitly committed to addressing antisemitism just doesn’t seem wise.
Given the precipitous rise in antisemitism in Canada, we might assume that the office of antisemitism was not a great success. On the other hand, it is nearly impossible to measure success and failure on these matters. Perhaps things would have been markedly worse without it. In any event, for what was no doubt a barely negligible cost in the bigger scheme of the federal budget, the office was at least a nod toward taking the matter seriously.
Perhaps the new office will have profound impacts that the two eradicated offices did not. The problem is that, in so many ways, antisemitism is different in form and content from other forms of racism. It needs and deserves to be recognized and treated in ways that reflect this meaningful difference.
It is a symptom of the problem of antisemitism itself that this basic recognition of difference elicits condemnations of “Jewish exceptionalism,” or worse. It is an unavoidable truth, though, and the unique challenges of antisemitism are not addressed when elected officials, commentators, academics and antiracist activists seem congenitally incapable of condemning antisemitism without couching that condemnation in a basket of other biases and bigotries that deserve their own condemnation.
It should be reason for concern that the homogenization of antisemitism is now being institutionalized in an agency that lumps biases against Jews – which Statistics Canada says account for 70% ofreligiously motivated hate crimes and almost one in five of all hate crimes in the country – into a catch-all council dealing with a vast range of social ills. (The fact that antisemitism is grouped with “religiously motivated hate crimes” is a problematic but common misnomer for another editorial.)
A second, seemingly unrelated story in the news last week should amplify this concern.
In a minor political coup, Doly Begum, the deputy leader of the New Democratic Party in the Ontario legislature, blindsided her leader by suddenly resigning her legislative seat and announcing she would run federally – not for their federal counterpart, the NDP, but for Mark Carney’s Liberal party.
Political commentators have had a field day poking the entrails of Ontario’s NDP and wondering what it might mean for the federal Liberal government’s left flank as some people ponder a snap election this year.
Those attuned to other nuances of the story soon found that Begum has been one of the Ontario legislature’s most vocal anti-Israel voices, with a particular inclination toward the “genocide” claim. Given that provincial governments have precisely no foreign policy responsibilities, Begum’s fixation on this issue suggests she may bring a very particular agenda should she be elected in the upcoming by-election.
There is no way that the prime minister, the Liberal party and anyone else involved in these headline-topping machinations was not aware of their new recruit’s repeated and inflammatory comments on this topic.
The welcoming of Begum into the Liberal fold seems like another message to Canadians about this government’s approach to Israel and Palestine and the inevitable fallout of that conflict on domestic harmony.
Coming on the heels of the federal government’s recognition of a “state of Palestine” last year, it is hard to imagine the latest developments as anything short of a slap in the face to Jewish and pro-Israel Canadians, and anyone who cares about combatting Jew-hatred.
I know what my wife and I will do for at least part of our winter break – go through the latest edition of Robin Esrock’s The Great Canadian Bucket List: One-of-a-Kind Travel Experiences together and make plans. For when? I’m not sure. But plans. Wish lists.
Published by Dundurn Press, and released just last month, this is the third edition of Esrock’s popular book. I interviewed Esrock when the original book came out in 2013, and it has evolved substantially since then. Notably, as he points out in the introduction, this new list “casts an overdue lens on Indigenous tourism,” which he hopes will result in powerful and personal connections this country desperately needs.”
New experiences have been added and some revisions have been made. In tandem with the books, there has always been a website, canadianbucketlist.com, because, as Esrock writes, “Tourism is a constantly evolving industry. Tour operators, restaurants and hotels often change names or ownership, adapt their services or cease operations altogether. Records fall, facts shift and practical information needs to be constantly updated.”
The Great Canadian Bucket List is organized by province, west to east, then up to Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It wraps up with a national section, which has some “Canada’s best” lists, among other things. There are fabulous colour photos throughout. Esrock highlights four to 17 experiences in each chapter, with his home province of British Columbia having the most entries.
You will hear no complaints from me about this! During COVID, I saw more of British Columbia than I had in the previous 28 or so years of living here. What I love about Esrock’s bucket list choices is their range, from, for example, houseboating on Shuswap Lake, which I could see myself doing, to heli-skiing, which is a hard no, to visiting Haida Gwaii, which I hope to do next year, to things that I’ve done, like visit the Malahat Skywalk on Vancouver Island, and things that probably all of us have done, such as take a stroll along the Seawall.
The range is as varied for the rest of Canada: there are places I’ve been, things I’d never do, and things I’d jump at the chance to do.
Years ago, I visited Head-Smashed-in-Buffalo Jump in Alberta and found it fascinating, learning a lot about Indigenous hunting practices. According to Esrock, the “UNESCO World Heritage Site is the most significant and best-preserved buffalo jump site on the continent.”
I’m “hometown” proud of Magnetic Hill in Moncton, NB, where I was born. I’ve rolled “up” the hill more than once and still get a kick out of the cheesiness of it all. As Esrock explains, it’s all an optical illusion, but it’s still magic to me.
I’ve had the privilege of wandering, and occasionally buying something, in every one of Esrock’s best urban markets in Canada: Granville Island here, St. Lawrence Market in Toronto, ByWard Market in Ottawa and the Forks in Winnipeg.
I’m not a big risk taker, so won’t be leaning off the top of the CN Tower in Toronto anytime soon, even with all the safety cords in the world, or scaling a frozen waterfall in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Que. And I will never jump off anything much higher than a curb.
That said, there are so many experiences that I would like to have. In the context of Esrock’s book, one of the top ones is cycling the Kettle Valley Railway, especially now that I’ve learned from Esrock that there’s a company that will provide the bikes, accommodation – and carry our bags! I’d like to check out the tunnels in Moose Jaw, Sask., which “were access corridors for steam engineers, then used as a safe haven for Chinese migrants fearing for their lives, and finally by bootleggers and gangsters.”
I would love to get to Churchill, Man., something I never managed to do when I lived in Winnipeg. Visiting L’Anse aux Meadows, in Newfoundland and Labrador, where there are the remains of a Norse settlement from 1000 CE, would be cool. Cruising the Northwest Passage would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience (hopefully). There are hikes and kayaking adventures that call to me….
But, for now, I will flip the pages of The Great Canadian Bucket List, contemplating all the possibilities. I’ll worry about what’s affordable, what’s doable physically and mentally, what’s possible time-wise, etc., later.
אכן יש אנטישמיות בקנדה כמו במרבית המדינות בעולם לאור מה שישראל עשתה בעזה. לפני כניסת צה”ל לעזה (לאחר השבעה באוקטובר) טענתי שהפעולה הצבאית שם תגרום נזק אדיר לישראל. זה כולל גם את הישראלים והיהודים בעולם. לישראלים בארץ לא היה אכפת כלל ממה שצה”ל עשה בעזה ונעשו דברים חמורים ביותר וחפים מפשע נהרגו. למרות השבעה באוקטובר זה לא היה צריך לקרות. עכשיו כאמור רואים את המחיר
מי שמתלונן שקר קנדה הוא טיפש מטופש. הרי ידוע שקנדה היא מדינה קרה והרבה יותר קרה מישראל. הישראלים ברובם לא יכולים לסבול קור ואין להם אפוא מה לחפש בקנדה
“ישראלים רבים שהיגרו חשבו שמחכים להם פה עם שטיח אדום”. באמת? למה? זו מחשבה אווילית המתאימה לישראלי הצפוי שחושב שכל העולם מתנהל סביבו, שכולם צריכים לקבלו בחום ואהבה? האם מישהו המתין לי בנחיתתי בוונקובר עם שטיח אדום והתחיל להחמיא ולדאוג לי? כל מה שעשיתי היה בזכותי בלבד, ללא עזרה של חבר או בן משפחה. אם הייתי ממתין לשטיחים אדומים בוודאי שהייתי נכשל כאן. האם לבנו של אחי ואשתו המתין מישהו בנחיתתם בארה”ב? הם עשו שיעורי בית כנדרש, לפחות לאישה הייתה עבודה מראש, הם ידעו מה צריך ללמוד וכיצד להתקדם מקצועית, ללא שום “ישראליות” שיכולה רק להזיק
“ישראלים רבים לא מבינים שהם מהגרים” – נכון מאוד. הם לא מבינים שבקנדה כמו כל מדינה מערבית, אין מפעילים קשרים אישיים, לא מפתיעים בביקורים לא מתוכננים, לא “קופצים” לפגישה עם מנהל סניף הבנק ללא תיאום מראש, ולא נתונים לך שום חשיבות כיוון שהגעת בישראל – על מה ולמה
כל מי שהיגר לקנדה (ובכלל לכל מדינה אחרת) עליו לדעת מראש מה כולל תהליך ההגירה, הדרישות המדויקות, הניירת הנכונה, ומה צריך להציג בפני השלטונות. כמובן צריך לדעת פחות או יותר כמה זמן זה יקח. אני למשל ידעתי שכדי לקבל את האזרחות הקנדית עלי לשהות בקנדה במשך שלוש שנים. ולכן לא עזבתי את המדינה באותה עת למעט פעם אחת לעשרה ימים, ולכן נאלצתי להמתין לאזרחות שלוש שנים+עשרה ימים. אם זה לא היה מתאים לי הייתי עוזב. מה שמתלונן שלא יהגר
אכן צריך “ניסיון קנדי” בכל עבודה רצינית. זה ידוע מראש ומי שאינו יודע זאת הוא פשוט לא רציני. ומה עושים: אפשר להיות עצמאי, להתחיל לעבוד כשכיר בעבודה פשוטה ולהתקדם, להשלים לימודים בקנדה ועוד
אכן קנדה יקרה מאוד אך לא יותר מישראל. הכל מתייקר בכל מקום בעולם ומי שיש לו בעייה אם זה שלא יהגר למדינה מערבית
נכון בתקופת הרפר היה טוב יותר לישראלים לעומת כיום. המלחמה של ישראל בעזה כאמור גרמה נזק איום לישראל שהיא כיום אחת המדינות השנואות בעולם. ולכן גם ישראלים ויהודים בעולם משלמים מחיר כבד. זה נורא ואיום אך בישראל לא מבינים זאת. כמובן שמי שמדבר עברית ברחוב ומסתובב עם סמלים יהודים וישראלים נמצא בסכנה גדולה יותר
לישראלים קשה לפצח את התרבות הקנדית או בעצם כל תרבות שהיא לא ישראלית. הישראלים לא מבינים שבמערב לא אוהבים את ההתנהגות הישראלית, השחצנות, הוולגריות, הבלתי אמצעיות, הספונטניות ללא גבול, להתקשר בטלפון לאחרים בכל שעה, וכאמור לפגוש אחרים כולל חברים ללא תכנון מראש
בסיכומו של דבר: מי שרוצה להגר לקנדה או לכל מדינה אחרת במערב מוטל עליו לעשות שיעורי בית רציניים ביותר. מי שרוצה להתנהג כישראלי מצוי במערב עדיף שלא יהגר
More than one in four Canadians aged 15 and older, about 27% of the population, are living with a disability, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. That’s an increase from 22% in 2017, and the numbers are expected to continue rising as our population ages and mental health challenges become more prevalent.
This isn’t just a statistic. It’s a reality for more than eight million people. Yet, despite these numbers, many of us in the disability community still find ourselves on the margins of Canadian society – overlooked, underestimated and too-often excluded.
I am neurodiverse. I have a cognitive disability, and I am a self-advocate for the disability community. I speak from experience and from the heart because I know what it feels like to be left out.
One of my earliest and most painful memories happened nearly 30 years ago, but it still lingers. In elementary school, there was a class camping trip I’d looked forward to for weeks. I stayed up all night baking chocolate chip cookies to share with my tentmates. But, when I got to school, I learned no one wanted to share a tent with me. That night, I slept alone in a tent that flooded during a rainstorm. I was soaked, cold and humiliated.
It wasn’t an isolated experience. I remember birthdays where I was the only classmate not invited, weekends without playdates, and watching other kids plan sleepovers I was never part of. These moments left marks, not just as a child, but as an adult working to change things for others.
I share these stories not to seek sympathy, but to urge action, because these experiences are still happening. Many of us with disabilities face uncomfortable, unkind or dismissive attitudes simply because we are different.
While some people make a sincere effort to be open-minded and inclusive, others respond to our presence with unease or judgment. We are frequently excluded from mainstream media,social spaces and cultural narratives. When we are represented, it’s often through inaccurate, stereotypical or tokenizing portrayals. This must change.
We need a cultural shift in how Canada understands, engages with and includes people with disabilities. That starts with honest conversations and with listening. Are you assuming what we need instead of asking? Are you speaking for us rather than with us?
There’s a powerful phrase within the disability rights movement: “Nothing about us without us.” It means decisions that affect our lives must include our voices. That should be the standard in education, policy, health care, the arts, employment, everywhere.
The next time you interact with someone who is different, pause. Consider your assumptions. Choose empathy, choose respect and choose inclusion.
Remember: more than a quarter of Canadians have a disability. We are your neighbours, your co-workers, your classmates and your friends. We are part of Canadian culture. We belong.
חברת הלואו קוסט הקנדית אייר טרנזיט החלה לטוס ישירות בקו טורונטו ברלין. קו זה מאפשר לישראלים שמגיעים לברלין להמשיך בטיסה ישירה לטורונטו. הקו החדש יופעל בשלב זה רק בחודשי הקיץ: מטורונטו לברלין בימים חמישי וראשון ומברלין לטורונטו בימים שני ושישי
הקו החדש הוא בשורה טובה לישראלים שרוצים לטוס לקנדה. זאת, לאור העובדה שאל על הפסיקה את הטיסות הישירות שלה בין ישראל לקנדה לפני כשלוש שנים. ואילו חברת התעופה לאומית של קנדה אייר קנדה לא טסה כרגע לישראל לאור המצב הבטחוני המסובך
למי שבוחר לטוס באייר טרנזיט לטורונטו יש אפשרות גם לקחת טיסות המשך בשיתוף החברה הקנדית הנוספת ללואו קוסט אייר פורטר, ליעדים נוספים בקנדה בהם: מונטריאול, ונקובר, קלגרי, אדמונטון והליפקס. או להגיע בטיסות המשך מטורונטו ליעדים בארה”ב ובהם: לאס וגאס
הטיסות של אייר טרנזיט מטורונטו וברלין ובחזרה מתקיימות באמצעות מטוסי איירבוס החדישים שכוללים מאה שמונים ושבעה מקומות במחלקת תיירים, שמונים ושבע מקומות במחלקת הפריום ועוד שנים עשר מושבים במחלקת העסקים. אגב משך זמן הטיסה בין ברלין לטורונטו נאמד בכתשע שעות
הטיסות של אייר טרנזיט מברלין לטורונטו מאפשרות גם גישה נוחה לקנדה לנוסעים ממדינות נוספות באירופה בהן צרפת, בלגיה, הולנד ושוויץ
אייר טרנזיט שמתמחה בעיקר בחבילות נופש ליעדים באירופה, ארה”ב והאיים הקריביים נבחרה לאחת החברות הטובות בתחום זה בשנים האחרונות
ואילו חברת התעופה הלאומית של איחוד האמירויות איתיחאד שחידשה לאחרונה את טיסותיה לישראל, כחלק מההתעצבות הגלובלית שלה, חנכה לאחרונה קו טיסות ישיר בין אבו דאבי לטורונטו. קו זה מאפשר לישראלים לטוס ישירות לאבו דאבי ומשם להמשיך ישירות לטורונטו. הקו החדש בין אבו דאבי לטורונטו באמצעות מטוסי איירבוס החדישים מגדיל את הקיבולת של החברה של איחוד האמירויות בכשלושים אחוזים. ובכך החברה מגיעה ללמעלה ממאה יעדים בעולם תוך שימוש בצי מטוסים מתקדמים. מדי חודש החברה מטיסה קרוב לשני מיליון נוסעים בקווים השונים שלה
צי המטוסים של חברת איתיחאד מונה כיום מאה במספר כולל חמישה מטוסי מטען
איתיחאד כידוע טסה ישירות לישראל ומאפשרת לישראלים להגיע למגוון רחב של יעדים ברחבי העולם, באמצעות טיסות המשך משדה התעופה של אבו דאבי
הקו החדש בין אבו דאבי לטורונטו של איתיחאד כאמור מאפשר לנוסעים מישראל אפשרות להגיע לטורונטו, בדומה לאפשרות להגיע לברלין ומשם להמשיך באייר טרנזט הקנדית לטורונטו
כידוע לחברת התעופה של אחיד האמירויות איתיחאד יש מחלקת עסקים מפוארת ביותר שכוללת תאים פרטיים סגורים עם חדר שינה, מיטה פרטית וכורסה אישית ומקלחת
קנדה תכיר במדינה הפלסטינית
ראש ממשלת קנדה, מארק קרני, הודיעה לאחרונה כי קנדה מתכוונת להכיר במדינה הפלסטינית במושב השמונים של האו”ם שיערך בספטמבר. הוא הוסיף כי הכוונה להכיר במדינה הפלסטינית כרוכה במחויבות של הרשות הפלסטינית לבצע רפורמות נחוצות ומשמעותיות ביותר, לקיים בחירות כלליות בשנה הבאה ללא החאמאס, ולפרק את המדינה הפלסטינית מצבא. קרני ציין עוד כי קנדה עובדת יחד עם מדינות נוספות לקיים את פתרון שתי המדינות, ישראל ולצידה מדינת פלסטין, שהוא הולך ונשחק מול עיננו
זאת לאחר שבמהלך ועידת שתי המדינות שהתקיימה לאחרונה במטה האו”ם בניו־יורק ביוזמת צרפת וסעודיה, הכריזו מדינות נוספות על כוונתן להכיר במדינה פלסטינית, במסגרת העצרת הכללית של האו”ם הצפויה להיערך בספטמבר הקרוב. קנדה מצטרפת אפוא למדינות נוספות שהחליטו להכיר במדינה הפלסטינית ובהן צרפת, בריטניה,מלטה, ספרד, אירלנד ונורווגיה
“Delible (poppy, watermelon, wheat, walnut, blackberry)” is on display at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria until Oct. 26, as part of the Architectures of Protection exhibition. (photo by Toni Hafkenscheid, courtesy Susan Hobbs Gallery)
Beth Stuart’s “Delible (poppy, watermelon, wheat, walnut, blackberry)” is part of the Architectures of Protection exhibition, which opened at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (AGGV) on May 24 and ends Oct. 26.
In each of the five “Delible” pieces, a black ledge has replicas of food items on top of it and a length of black mesh suspended below. Stuart used plaster, iron oxide pigment, dyed silk, steel and Sumi ink to create the works. The replicas are casts of halved walnuts, pizza crusts, poppy hulls, blackberries and watermelon seeds. According to the artist, each original mold was made from the source itself, except for the watermelon seeds, which were cast from clay originals.
On a wall leading to the five pieces, there is a several-square-foot textual display featuring more than 1,600 words, written entirely in capital letters, with the thoughts seeming to randomly jump from one topic to another; there are no paragraphs, but the words cover five columns. The text, an integral element of the overall artwork, was hand-stenciled by Stuart and relates to the physical pieces.
Beth Stuart’s “Delible (poppy, watermelon, wheat, walnut, blackberry)” installation comprises a wall of text and five structures. (photo by Mike Andrew McLean, courtesy Art Gallery of Greater Victoria)
The text begins with mention of the Himalayan blackberry, an invasive species in British Columbia, and then moves to Luther Burbank, an American botanist, horticulturist and eugenicist, before discussing the Armenian Genocide (1915-16) and Canada’s residential schools.
In the middle portion of the textual display, Stuart describes what she sees as the plight of Gazans and the attitudes of certain Israelis.
“AS I WRITE, THERE HAS BEEN NO AID OF ANY KIND FOR ALMOST TWO MONTHS AND EVERY WATER DESALINATION PLANT HAS BEEN BOMBED,” Stuart writes. “IN EARLY 2024 THERE WAS A CLIP CIRCULATING FROM ISRAELI CHANNEL 14, OF A PUNDIT SAYING EVERY PALESTINIAN OVER THE AGE OF FOUR YEARS IS A POTENTIAL TERRORIST AND A NECESSARY TARGET OF WAR. SINCE THEN TWO KNESSET MEMBERS HAVE DECLARED PUBLICLY THAT EVEN INFANTS ARE TERRORISTS. THE DELIBLES BAGS ARE APPROXIMATELY THE SIZE OF A BAG OF FLOUR OF THE TYPE THAT SOMETIMES ARRIVES IN GAZA, AND ALSO COULD CONTAIN THE BODY OF A FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILD.”
Stuart then talks about tree-planting, which she apparently did in university, then writes: “THIS IS THE FOURTH VERSION OF THIS TEXT I HAVE WRITTEN OVER THE PAST 20 MONTHS. THIS WEEK THERE ARE MASSIVE WILDFIRES NEAR OCCUPIED JERUSALEM. THEY ARE BURNING IN AYALON CANADA PARK, A SEVEN SQUARE KILOMETER PARK LOCATED IN OCCUPIED PALESTINE. THERE HAD BEEN THREE PALESTINIAN VILLAGES ON THIS LAND IN 1948. AND APPROXIMATELY 10,000 PALESTINIANS WERE KILLED OR EXPELLED FROM THE AREA AND THE VILLAGES RAZED.”
She talks more about “THE ORGANIZATION THAT FUNDED THE PARK” without naming it and then raises the issue of the Canadian government’s involvement with Israel and, specifically, its military.
“BETWEEN OCTOBER 7TH 2023 AND THE FIRST WRITING OF THIS TEXT, MY GOVERNMENT HAD SENT 30 MILLION DOLLARS WORTH OF MILITARY SUPPORT TO ISRAEL,” she writes. “ON SEPTEMBER 10TH 2024 THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CLAIMED THAT THEY WERE NO LONGER SENDING ANY ARMS TO ISRAEL. IN FACT, WHILE CONTRACTS FOR ARMS SALES ARE NOT BEING OFFERED, ONLY 12% OF EXISTING CONTRACTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED, AND MANY PARTS, RAW MATERIALS AND MUNITIONS ARE BEING SOLD TO THE U.S. AND THEN SENT TO ISRAEL. CANADA ALSO BUYS ARMS AND SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY FROM ISRAEL.”
The text moves into Stuart’s comments on residential schools before she concludes with the sentence: “FOR THE SECOND SPRING SINCE OCTOBER 7, 2023 THE BLACKBERRY HEDGES ARE BLOOMING.”
To at least one member of the Victoria Jewish community, Stuart’s work is an example of “artfully coded antisemitism – all the more reprehensible for its coyness.”
“In itself, ‘Delibles’ are very beautiful, evocative works,” Maurice Yacowar, a professor emeritus (English and film studies) of the University of Calgary, wrote in a letter to the art gallery that was also sent to the Independent.
“What renders the work problematic is the full-wall text – in spectral grey – that accompanies the sculptures,” Yacowar said.
He said,“As a whole, the work contrasts the self-renewal of nature’s produce with humans’ murderousness. Unfortunately, the art is undermined by the artist’s ignorance and prejudice in its Palestinian references.”
He said Stuart misrepresents Israel and its media by choosing to reference a news outlet “that even in Israel is considered extremist.” And, he argues,“She omits the Oct. 7 context. A Hamas spokesman flatly stated, ‘There are no civilians in Israel’ – ie., only targets in war.”
Stuart’s exhibit does not include the word “Hamas.”
In a statement to the Independent, the AGGV said:
“The gallery is aware that some members of the community disagree with the subject matter of a current work of art on display. We are always interested to hear how the public, and our members, respond to our exhibitions. We also embrace learning, new ideas and critical perspectives.
“At the AGGV, we respect the artists and curators who work with us to create exceptional exhibitions. As an arts institution, our role is to amplify artists’ voices and create space for conversation and learning. We encourage an exchange of ideas that results in meaningful dialogue and understanding through art.”
The Architectures of Protection exhibition, in the synopsis posted by the AGGV, is supposed to reflect “on ideas and modes of protection and refuge – with regards to oneself, to community, knowledge, culture, identity and land. What are these spaces and practices? What is protection for some and not for others?
Together, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and in the current global social and political climate, the artworks in Architectures of Protection direct critical attention towards systems and structures that shape and impact everyday and sacred environments and encounters, alongside individual and collective relationships with the land.”
The exhibit also features the artwork of Dana Claxton, Jessica Karuhanga, Emilio Rojas and France Trépanier.
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
