To Potential Signatories:

Regardless of where you fall on the spectrum of support for or opposition to the Jewish community, I ask that you read this letter to the end before deciding whether to sign it. I have included a note at the end explaining why I believe this petition deserves your support.

Prime Minister Mark Carney,

My name is Moshe (Moe) Pinhas, and I am writing on behalf of many like-minded Jews. Mr. Carney, it is time for us to leave. We have received a message from multiple levels of government across this country, including your own government: many of us are no longer safe in Canada.

You may wonder why someone like me is writing this letter instead of one of our community leaders. I cannot answer for them, but I can explain why I am writing. I am in my fifties and a recent graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University Law School. I have witnessed firsthand the difference between the future many Jewish Canadians believed was possible in the 1990s and the reality we face today. Limiting my comments to antisemitism alone, what we are seeing now paints a troubling picture of where things may be headed.

The following is a brief and non-exhaustive list of factors motivating Jewish Canadians to consider leaving Canada:

1. Almost daily antisemitic attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions.
2. Reduced opportunities for Jewish students to participate in advanced university and professional programs.
3. Professionals, academics, and union members facing barriers to resources, opportunities, and advancement because of their Jewish identity.
4. Routine harassment in workplaces, schools, and public spaces.
5. Feeling compelled to conceal one's Jewish identity while travelling within the city.
6. Frequent challenges to our ancestral identity and our right to self-determination in our historic homeland. In your June 1 address, you did not mention Zionism. Most Jews view Zionism as an integral component of Jewish identity and history.
7. Ongoing efforts to revoke charitable status from organizations that support Jewish cultural life, education, and security.
8. Harassment within our neighbourhoods, including incidents involving the removal of posters relating to a missing Jewish child.
9. Demonstrations that include symbolic violence directed at Jews or Jewish symbols. Many Canadians would react differently if similar imagery targeted other minority groups.
10. A perception that laws protecting Jewish Canadians are enforced inconsistently and that public officials are often reluctant to address antisemitism directly.

I originally intended to write this letter on May 31, but I delayed doing so because I understood that you would soon be addressing the Jewish community. In a sense, I am glad I waited. Your address, together with the composition of the advisory council you announced, conveyed an important message. Many Jews interpreted that message as evidence that their concerns are not being given meaningful representation at the national level.

Many of my liberal friends tell me that I should have faith in you and trust that you will do what is right. In that spirit, I would like to propose what I believe would be a constructive response.

At the earliest possible opportunity, your government should introduce what I call the Exodus Act:

1. Jewish Canadians would be permitted to declare their intention to relocate to another jurisdiction within the next five years.
2. Eligibility could be limited to countries that have demonstrated a commitment to the safety and security of Jewish communities, such as the United States, Israel, Argentina, the United Arab Emirates, and Azerbaijan.
3. There would be no immediate deemed disposition of assets for tax purposes. Instead, taxation would occur upon actual disposition, similar to the treatment of certain non-residents.
4. The Canada Revenue Agency would suspend ongoing actions against Jewish charities where it is reasonable to conclude that the organization exists primarily to support the safety, welfare, or cultural life of Jewish Canadians.
5. No contractual provision would be enforceable if its primary effect is to prevent a Jewish Canadian from relocating outside Canada.
6. The Canada Labour Code should be amended so that, where employment duties can be performed remotely, Jewish employees may work virtually from an approved destination country. I would encourage similar reforms at the provincial level.
7. A portion of Canada's sovereign wealth fund should be dedicated to low-interest student loans for Jewish students pursuing professional degrees outside Canada.
8. Moving expenses incurred in permanently relocating from Canada should be made tax-deductible.

Mr. Carney, my name, Moshe, is the Hebrew form of Moses. Therefore, Prime Minister, I am asking you to let my people go.

Respectfully,

Moshe (Moe) Pinhas
Canadian Jew

 

To Signatories:

If you value the Jewish community, or if you are concerned that Jewish doctors, lawyers, academics, entrepreneurs, and other professionals may leave Canada, I understand your concern. However, many Jews who are considering emigration have already begun to make that decision. This petition is therefore not only about whether they leave, but about how Canada chooses to treat them as they do.

Will Canada be remembered as a country that became inhospitable to its Jewish citizens, or as a country that treated them fairly even as they departed? I hope your signature helps answer that question.

If you are not particularly supportive of the Jewish community, this petition may still align with your views. If a significant number of Jews choose to leave Canada, policies that facilitate an orderly and dignified departure may accelerate that process. While some Jews will remain, I believe the size of the community will decline substantially over the coming years.