OTTAWA — The Canadian government is “urgently” looking for a way to dissolve the not-for-profit status of Samidoun, a Vancouver-based anti-Israel organization that has been designed as a terror group, Industry Minister Mélanie Joly
announced on social media on Thursday
.
“It is completely unacceptable that any organization listed as a terrorist entity by the Government of Canada continues to exist as a federally registered not-for-profit organization,” wrote Joly. “I have therefore directed government officials to urgently look at any and all options to formally dissolve Samidoun as well as any and all listed terrorist entities in Canada.”
A year ago, Samidoun was designated as a terror group in both Canada and the United States. At the time, Khaled Barakat, whose wife Charlotte Kates is a director of Samidoun,
was also designated a terrorist
by the United States’ government. The group’s not-for-profit status has remained intact, though, infuriating Jewish advocacy groups.
Samidoun has been a prominent organizer of protests in Canada since the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
B’nai Brith Canada, the Canadian Jewish rights advocacy group,
thanked Joly for the move on social media
.
“For almost a year, B’nai Brith Canada has been calling for Samidoun’s not-for-profit corporation to be dissolved… Their continued existence as a corporation has made a mockery of our nation’s efforts to combat terrorism. Every day that the corporation exists is a blight on our society,” the group wrote.
“We look forward to the end of this sordid saga and to the implementation of legislative reform that will ensure that Canada never again finds itself in such an odious predicament.”
After Samidoun was designated a terror group last year, the Criminal Code prohibits anyone from providing financial services, money or property to the group. But Samidoun was still a registered not-for-profit in Canada with its registration page on the government of Canada website noting that it is a designated terrorist organization.
Advocates expressed cautious optimism about the move on Thursday.
“This is a welcome and long overdue move. For decades, terrorist groups, criminal organizations, and various other hostile actors have used Canada like an ATM to fundraise, mobilize, and carry on business in ways that undermine Canada’s national security,” said Casey Babb is the director of the Promised Land Project at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
“There’s no reason whatsoever that organizations like Samidoun should be able to operate freely in this country while being a listed terrorist entity. It makes absolutely no sense, it undermines our security, it hurts our international reputation, and sends the message to other organizations that Canada is a great place if you want to get away with virtually anything — even terrorism.”
— With additional reporting from Tyler Dawson
National Post
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