Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged a full review of funding to anti-racism groups after offensive tweets about Jews posted by a senior consultant came to light.
Noting that the group’s senior consultant tweeted about “Jewish white supremacists,” Trudeau said that the government would be putting in place rules "to make sure this never happens again."
"It is absolutely unacceptable that federal dollars have gone to this organization that has demonstrated xenophobia, racism and antisemitism,” Trudeau said at a press conference on Tuesday.
The controversy erupted last week after Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen admitted that the government had erred in hiring the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC), and revoked a $133,000 grant for the offensive tweets by their senior consultant, Laith Marouf.
The organization’s past funding government is now being scrutinized.
"Not a single cent of government money should go to organizations that harbour antisemitic views," Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller tweeted.
"After funding had been allocated, Laith Marouf made antisemitic comments that are reprehensible and inconsistent with the objectives of the Canada Summer Jobs program," Miller's office said, according to the Canadian Press.
Shimon Koffler Fogel, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), told the Canadian Press that Miller's announcement was a "clear and unambiguous statement regarding the importance of government funding not going to groups harbouring and espousing antisemitic views."
“We call on the ministries involved to be transparent and provide details about their investigations into the systemic failures that led to this inappropriate funding in a timely fashion," he said.
Opposition MPs also called for a full investigation into the funding, including an audit of money given to CMAC from government departments and programs.