The Canadian province of Quebec is being urged to formally adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, following a pledge made in June 2021 to implement the definition.
B’nai Brith Canada noted that there is a misconception that Quebec has officially adopted the IHRA definition but explained that it has not yet done so.
“A motion presented to the National Assembly on June 4, 2021 in favour of the adoption of the IHRA definition failed to receive the necessary unanimous consent required after the left wing anti-Israel Quebec Solidaire party blocked the required debate,” said Marvin Rotrand, national director of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights.
According to Rotrand, the only follow up was a statement made on June 9, 2021 in the National Assembly by Benoit Charette, minister of the environment and for the fight against racism.
“He indicated the government would adopt the IHRA definition but the minister’s statement was never followed up on despite repeated outreach from B’nai Brith,” the advocacy organization said.
On February 22, Charette sent a letter to B’nai Brith explaining why the Order in Council had not been adopted by the government.
“We have carried out verifications since our last exchange. To adopt a decree, we would need to be able to link it to a framework law (for example on the fight against racism), which to my surprise does not exist. We are examining what form a bill could be developed to constitute such a framework law,” he wrote.
B’nai Brith expressed disappointment with the government’s lack of progress on adopting the definition.
“We disagree with the government’s interpretation of whether it has the power to adopt IHRA via an Order in Council,” B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said. “But if that is its position, we ask Premier Legault to table a government motion. Unanimous consent is not required for a government motion and yesterday’s election results show that an overwhelming majority of MNAs would vote for the IHRA motion.”