According to Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, it is “unacceptable” that his country’s funding went to an anti-racism organization whose consultant posted anti-Semitic comments online. Canada will now examine the distribution of federal anti-racism funding. Additionally, a six-figure grant to the Community Media Advocacy Center has been withdrawn. Senior consultant of the organization Laith Marouf’s attorney defended his client’s positions.
The controversy started when tweets from Mr. Marouf’s personal Twitter account were made public, some of which were criticized as being discriminatory toward the Jewish community. Another tweet that was criticized for being xenophobic specifically mentioned and praised the passing of former US Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Community Media Advocacy Centre in Montreal, a non-profit organization attempting to develop an anti-racism strategy for Canadian broadcasting, lists Mr. Marouf as a senior adviser.
The federal government has granted the organization $133,800 (£87,600) to boost its anti-racism activities. The grant was made public in August 2021 as a part of a total of $20.4 million that was awarded to 92 anti-racism initiatives in Canada. The organization’s financing was terminated after Canada’s minister of multiculturalism, Ahmed Hussen, who was appointed after the award was announced, described Mr. Marouf’s tweets as “reprehensible and nasty.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Canada demanded that the government reassess its financing practices after learning of the tweets and stated that Canadians “should be disgusted” by these posts. The Community Media Advocacy Center, according to Mr. Trudeau, had displayed “xenophobia, racism, and anti-Semitism,” he claimed in a press conference on Tuesday. He continued by saying that his administration would evaluate the process for allocating anti-racism cash “to be sure that no other organization or hateful person slip through the gaps.”
The Community Media Advocacy Center and Mr. Marouf did not respond to requests for comment from the BBC. Mr. Marouf’s attorney, Stephen Ellis, defended his client on August 19 and said that he does not harbor any animus toward the Jewish faith as a collective body.caused the country to fall. Internationally, he signed arms control agreements with the US and refrained from getting involved when countries in eastern Europe revolted against their Communist leaders.
In the West, he is revered as a reformer who set the stage for the end of the Cold War.
