Human Rights at a Crossroads: Anti-Palestinian Racism, Islamophobia & Anti-Semitism

Talk by Birju Dattani, former Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission with Sheryl Nestel, Independent Jewish Voices Canada, as discussant

Anti-Palestinian racism (APR), Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism have increased significantly in Canada since October 7, 2023. The federal government has introduced Bill C-63, also known as the Online Harms Bill, partly to address these hatreds. With members of several communities alleging feelings of unsafety, being “cancelled”, losing employment and, in some cases, facing criminal charges, the human rights system has struggled to keep pace. This talk will address how human rights law, as currently constituted, addresses APR, Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism. It will critically evaluate the role of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of Anti-Semitism and the Arab-Canadian Lawyers’ Association (ACLA) definition of APR in human rights litigation and power struggles. Finally, it will examine how provincial and federal governments, to the extent that they enshrine these definitions in policy or law, are fostering an environment which may itself be violative of human rights.

Dattani was previously the Director of Human Rights for the Yukon Territory and Assistant Director of the Alberta Human Rights Commission’s Northern Regional Office.