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Toronto (April 17, 2024) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) applauds the Government of Canada’s just-proposed funding to help fight antisemitism and other hate, as presented in its 2024 federal budget unveiled yesterday.

The Canadian government announced in its Budget 2024 a proposed $273.6 million in funding over six years, including $29.3 million ongoing, earmarked for Canada’s Action Plan on Combatting Hate.

This includes: $5 million to support construction of the new Montréal Holocaust Museum; $7.3 million over six years, with $1.1 million ongoing, to support the Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism; $12.9 million over six years, with $0.9 million ongoing, to improve the collection and availability of hate crime data in Canada; $26.8 million to increase training at police colleges on handling hate crimes; $28 million to support victims following a hate-motivated crime; and $32 million over six years, and $11 million ongoing, for the Security Infrastructure Program, which provides funding to organizations to enhance security at gathering places of communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes.

FSWC especially welcomes the additional $5 million over five years, and $2 million ongoing, in proposed funding to create a new National Holocaust Remembrance Program and support initiatives to preserve the memory of the Holocaust and improve Canadians' awareness of the Holocaust and antisemitism.

“We are pleased the federal government is acknowledging in its budget priorities the dramatic increase in hate targeting Jewish communities across Canada, with new initiatives and funds for educating Canadians about the dangers of antisemitism and protecting minority groups from hate-motivated crime,” said Jaime Kirzner-Roberts, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at FSWC. “For years, we have decried that so many of our police services lack the necessary training and resources to effectively combat rising hate crime. This new investment in hate crime policing will go a long way in increasing the capacity of our law enforcement agencies to both deter these incidents and bring justice to hate crime victims.”

“We recognize the important role Special Envoy Deborah Lyons and MP Anthony Housefather will play in moving forward all of these important initiatives, particularly in relation to combatting antisemitism and tackling rising hate crime,” Kirzner-Roberts added.

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