October 28, 2019: Is this an election that no party wins?

By Michael Regenstreif

This issue of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin goes to press before the October 21 federal election – so I’m writing this column before we know the actual results.

However, if the latest polls are close to being accurate, the results of this election might well be as un-decisive as the results of Israel’s two 2019 elections. As I write, more than a month after Israelis voted on September 17, a governing coalition is still not in place there.

A poll analysis site I’ve followed throughout the campaign is www.338Canada.com and its latest projection suggests the Liberal and Conservative parties are virtually tied with both in the range of taking about 132 seats. The strength of both major parties has diminished during the campaign while the New Democratic Party (NDP) and Bloc Québécois (BQ) have each gained significant strength.

With the possibility of up to six parties electing MPs, and the further possibility of one or two independent members, we may see a situation like Israel’s in which neither of the major parties has enough potential support in a minority Parliament to effectively govern.

How did we get to this possible situation? Here are some of the contributing factors.

While Liberal leader Justin Trudeau’s personal brand was already wounded before the start of the campaign from various broken promises, from mixed messages on environmental and Indigenous issues, and from the SNC-Lavalin scandal, it took a major hit a week after the writ dropped with the revelation that Trudeau, as an adult, had foolishly donned blackface and brownface makeup on at least three occasions. Any ordinary candidate for Parliament would surely have been dropped by their party if such a revelation had surfaced during the campaign.

Meanwhile it came to light that Conservative leader Andrew Scheer holds dual American and Canadian citizenship. That probably wouldn’t have been too significant an issue except for the fact that in 2005 Scheer himself raised the issue of then-governor general Michaëlle Jean’s dual citizenship, and because in past election campaigns the Conservatives attacked then-Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and then-NDP leader Tom Mulcair for their dual citizenships. While Scheer now says he’s begun the process of renouncing his American citizenship, he was a member of Parliament for 15 years – and served as speaker of the House of Commons for more than four of those years – without ever revealing his dual citizenship.

There is no doubt that the NDP’s growing strength outside Quebec can be attributed to frustrations with the Trudeau Liberals and to strong performances by NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in the debates and on the hustings, and to his grace under fire from racist attacks.

In Quebec, the rise of the BQ – which 338Canada predicts will win about 35 seats, up from 10 in 2015 – can be at least partially explained by support among francophone voters for Quebec’s Bill 21 banning certain civil servants from wearing religious symbols, including Jewish kippahs, Sikh turbans and Muslim hijabs. While the Liberals remain strong in multicultural Montreal, the BQ seems set to take most of the francophone ridings off the island of Montreal. The BQ has promised to protect Bill 21 from federal interference.

Speaking personally, the response to Bill 21 – which achieves its goals by use of the notwithstanding clause to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – by all of the federal leaders has been highly disappointing. While Trudeau, Scheer, Singh and Green Party leader Elizabeth May have all expressed opposition to Bill 21, only Trudeau will say that the federal government “might” intervene in a court case against it. Even Trudeau’s “might” is a weak response. As I noted in my August 19 column, the phrase “a Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian” is merely an empty platitude when one province can get away with removing Charter rights from certain targeted minorities.

Of course, the polls might be wrong and we might see a strong minority or even a majority government emerge after October 21. A better bet, though, is another election sooner than later (with the possibility that one or more of the parties has a new leader).

February 18, 2019: Paul Dewar will be ‘sorely missed’

By Michael Regenstreif

According to Leo Rosten in his 1968 book, The Joys of Yiddish, “A mensch is someone to admire and emulate, someone of noble character. The key to being ‘a real mensch’ is nothing less than character, rectitude, dignity, a sense of what is right, responsible, [and] decorous.”

Canada lost a real mensch on February 6 when Paul Dewar, the member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre from 2006 until 2015, passed away following a year-long battle with Grade 4 glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer. He was just 56.

Dewar’s family – wife Julia Sneyd, and sons Nathaniel and Jordan – were with him when he died. His mother, from whom he inherited his commitments to social justice and public service, was the late Marion Dewar, mayor of Ottawa from 1978 to 1985.

While I didn’t know Dewar well, he was always friendly when I’d encounter him at Mitzvah Day and other Jewish community events, or occasionally at music events like the Ottawa Folk Festival. And, during election campaigns when the Jewish Federation of Ottawa would hold round-table discussions with Ottawa-area candidates, I always found Dewar to be one of the best informed and most articulate representatives of any of the parties.

Although there were some New Democratic Party MPs who were hostile to the State of Israel, Dewar, the NDP’s foreign affairs critic for many years, joined party leaders Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair in expressing a principled stand that maintained support for the country and people while sometimes diverging from policies of the Israeli government.

While an NDP government would maintain Canada’s strong friendship and support for Israel, government-to-government relations, when necessary, would be more nuanced than they were under the then-current Conservative government, Dewar said at a Federation round-table meeting with NDP candidates on September 3, 2015.

“Friends, sometimes, should be able to criticize friends,” said Dewar, saying an NDP government would be “constructively critical” when necessary but would certainly maintain and expand Canada’s strong diplomatic and trade relationships with Israel. The NDP, he added, supports Israel’s right to defend itself from regional threats – including terrorist attacks.

During that meeting, Dewar also expressed support for community agencies like Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, Tamir and Hillel Lodge which are on the frontlines of providing social services.

Dewar was also a strong advocate for Holocaust survivors.

“Canada has a clear and proudly multi-partisan tradition of supporting Holocaust victims and survivors,” Dewar wrote in a 2014 letter to then-foreign affairs minister John Baird urging him to encourage his counterparts in Central and Eastern Europe to commit to restitution and compensate survivors and their families for property seized during the Holocaust.

“Canada has both the ability and the responsibility to play a leading role in advocating for prompt and proper restitution or compensation, in accordance with internationally recognized standards of justice,” he added.

Despite often profound policy differences, Dewar was one of those rare politicians who was universally respected by his political opponents in the Liberal and Conservative parties.

“Devastated to learn of the passing of my friend and former colleague Paul Dewar. An incredibly decent guy and great parliamentarian and champion for Ottawa. He was caring, companionate and competent. Thinking of his family at this difficult time,” tweeted Baird, the former foreign affairs minister and Conservative MP.

“Paul… challenged us all to dream bigger and do better to care for the people around us… He distinguished himself as a community builder, an advocate for young people, and a tenacious voice for human rights around the world. He lived up to everything a leader should be – principled, compassionate, and brave… He will be sorely missed,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, leader of the Liberal Party.

In a final message posted to his Facebook page on the day of his death, Dewar continued to inspire.

“In the stoic stillness of my journey, I have found my way to peace,” he wrote near the end of the message. “May you keep building a more peaceful and better world for all. Let this sacred ground be a place for all. Let the building of a better world begin with our neighbours. May we dream together. May we gather our courage and stand together in moments of despair, and may we be bound together by joyous celebration of life. We are best when we love and when we are loved… My love to you always, Paul.”

February 5, 2018: New Democrats to debate pro-BDS resolution at Ottawa convention

By Michael Regenstreif

The New Democratic Party of Canada (NDP) will be holding its national convention here in Ottawa from February 16 to 18 and one of the items on the agenda is a resolution encouraging support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.

There have long been anti-Israel sentiments among some members of the NDP – voiced particularly by such former MPs as Libby Davies and Svend Robinson – but recent NDP leaders like the late Jack Layton and Thomas Mulcair ensured that Canada’s social democratic party maintained a balanced approach to Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians that supports a negotiated two-state solution.

“New Democrats believe in… Working with partners for peace in Israel and Palestine, respecting UN resolutions and international law, supporting peaceful coexistence in viable, independent states with agreed-upon borders, an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, and an end to violence targeting civilians,” states the current NDP policy book.

The resolution to be debated at the NDP convention would replace that policy with one that calls for “banning settlement products from Canadian markets, and using other forms of diplomatic and economic pressure to end the occupation” and “opposing parliamentary efforts to undermine non-violent movements seeking a just resolution.”

That last clause is undoubtedly a reference to the resolution passed in the House of Commons on February 22, 2016 condemning the BDS movement against Israel – as well as similar resolutions that have been passed by several provincial legislatures.

That 2016 anti-BDS resolution was supported by the Liberal and Conservative parties and opposed by the NDP as an attack on freedom of speech and dissent. At the same time, though, the NDP stressed its opposition to BDS and its support for a two-state solution.

So this new motion, should it pass, would be a marked change in NDP policy.

It remains to be seen whether or not the resolution will pass at the convention and whether or not it will be supported by Jagmeet Singh, the new NDP leader.

Singh has spoken in favour of Israel lifting the naval blockade of Gaza and he was an NDP member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario when it passed an anti-BDS resolution on December 1, 2016. Singh opposed the resolution on the same basis that the federal NDP had opposed the anti-BDS resolution in the House of Commons, noting in a tweet that “dissent, protest and freedom of speech are a fundamental part of democracy.”

After opposing Ontario’s anti-BDS resolution – which passed overwhelmingly with support from the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives – Singh participated in a delegation of Ontario MPPs that visited Israel on a trip organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

Like previous NDP leaders, Singh has not, to date, endorsed the anti-Israel BDS movement. It remains to be seen whether he will follow in the steps of Layton and Mulcair and maintain a balanced approach or whether he will align himself with those in the party who would take a stridently anti-Israel approach.

Singh won a first-ballot victory in the NDP leadership race last fall as a mainstream candidate – seemingly in the tradition of Layton and Mulcair. The party’s anti-Israel faction largely supported Manitoba MP Nikki Ashton who finished in third place with less than one-third of Singh’s support. Ashton has endorsed the resolution that will be debated this month at the NDP convention.

In a Canadian Jewish News article about the NDP resolution, CIJA CEO Shimon Koffler Fogel “praised both Layton and Mulcair for their leadership, when it came to ‘pushing back against marginal elements within the party that sought to advance an extreme agenda to the detriment of the NDP’s broader policy priorities,’ and said he hopes that Singh will do the same.”

I continue to believe the BDS movement, at best, is counterproductive to the cause of peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to a two-state solution to the conflict; that its true goal is simply to delegitimize the State of Israel. Hopefully the NDP will also continue to recognize that.