The Liberal Government Deliberately Excluded Anti-Palestinian Racism From Their Anti-Racism Strategy

Dear Hon. Minister St-Onge and Hon. Minister Khera

We are writing as the NDP critics for Canadian Heritage, and Diversity and Inclusion, about your Liberal government’s failure to include anti-Palestinian racism (APR) in Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy 2024-2028.

It is shocking that your government continues to refuse to acknowledge or define the racism experienced by Palestinians in Canada. Numerous advocates, stakeholders, and Palestinians have communicated with officials in your government and have made it clear that the government is outright refusing to include references to anti-Palestinian racism in the upcoming anti-racism strategy. At a time when Palestinians are witnessing horrific images of their loved ones being brutalized and killed in Gaza and Lebanon, your government has done nothing to address the growing wave of anti-Palestinian racism here in Canada.

We in the NDP are committed to fighting all forms of bigotry, hatred, and racism, that includes anti-Palestinian racism.

When Arab schoolchildren are accused of being terrorists simply because of their ethnicity, that is racism, and that is wrong.

When Palestinians are blamed for their own deaths, that is racism and that is wrong.

Many people do not report these incidents due to fear of reprisal in their workplace or profession, which is why defining APR is important.

Palestinian Canadians, Arab Canadians, and Muslim Canadians want their government to stand up for them against racism. Anti-Palestinian racism is not an abstract issue, it is a lived reality for many Palestinians in Canada. A prerequisite for genocide to occur is racist dehumanization, which Canada should stand vigorously against. Liberals have attempted to discuss this issue under the catch-all of Islamophobia, but this is misguided. While Islamophobia is certainly a factor, anti-Palestinian racism is a distinct form of anti-Arab racism that needs to be addressed.

While you may claim that there is no consensus on a definition of APR, this is simply untrue. A joint report from Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, and the Canadian Muslim Public Affairs Council has called on the government to include a description of APR in the updated strategy.

A robust working definition of Anti-Palestinian racism should include the following: Anti-Palestinian racism is a form of anti-Arab racism that stereotypes or dehumanizes Palestinians. It takes various forms, including the denial of the Nakba of 1948, when Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes; the justification of violence against Palestinians; the failure to recognize Palestinians as an Indigenous people with a collective identity and rights in relation to Palestine; the erasure of their human rights or the denial of their equal dignity and worth. It also includes defaming Palestinians as terrorist sympathizers or as opponents of democratic values.

The NDP has advocated for a systemic approach to combating APR. As a member of the Heritage Committee, I Niki Ashton, pushed for a study on the impact of APR and for its explicit inclusion in Canada’s anti-racism strategy. We in the NDP will continue to call out the ways APR has dehumanized Palestinians, justifying atrocities committed against Palestinians.

Your Liberal government’s decision to exclude APR from Canada’s anti-racism strategy exposes your hypocrisy when it comes to standing up for Palestinian and Arab communities. This exclusion is not just a bureaucratic oversight—it reflects a deeper unwillingness to address the specific challenges faced by Palestinians, and a reluctance to confront ingrained biases that allow this form of racism to persist. Failing to include APR in our anti-racism strategy sends a harmful message—that the violence faced by Palestinians is less deserving of attention.

We in the NDP will continue to advocate for the inclusion of APR in Canada’s anti-racism strategy. Defining APR is not only about protecting Palestinian communities—it’s about ensuring that all people in Canada can live free from fear and violence.

We look forward to receiving a reply from you soon.

MP Niki Ashton, NDP Critic for Canadian Heritage

MP Blake Desjarlais, NDP Critic for Diversity and Inclusion