OTTAWA — The federal government has earmarked $10 million in extra funding for Jewish communities to fortify their gathering spaces and places of worship after three Toronto synagogues were hit by gunfire within days last week.
On Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree announced the additional funding will flow to eligible Jewish groups in Montreal and Toronto through the Canada Community Security Program (CCSP).
The money will be dedicated to funding security equipment such as protective barriers, reinforcements to windows and doors, staff training to respond to hate-motivated incidents, and hiring security for a limited amount of time around Jewish gathering spaces.
“When a house of worship is staffed by gunfire. It is a sign that something is seriously wrong,” Anandasangaree told reporters Wednesday, flanked by over two dozen of his Liberal colleagues.
The announcement comes days after a yet-unidentified individual or individuals fired bullets at three Toronto-area synagogues, with two of them targeted early Saturday morning.
“Both incidents took place at a time when the buildings were empty and no community members were present,” the city’s Jewish Security Network (JSN) said in a community security update at the time.
The targets were the BAYT synagogue on Clark Avenue in Thornhill and Shaarei Shomayim synagogue in Glencairn Avenue in the Toronto neighbourhood of North York, the JSN said.
A third synagogue, Temple Emanu-El also in North York, was shot at the previous Monday. In all cases, no one was reported injured.
Police have not yet identified any suspects tied to the shootings.
“Canada’s Jewish community is anxious, fearful, and those feelings are quite justified,” Anandasangaree said.
“When you attack a synagogue, you attack all places of worship. When you attack a single group of Canadians, and in this case, Jewish Canadians, you attack all Canadians, you attack the very fabric of our society,” he added.
Minister of Artificial Intelligence Evan Solomon told reporters that attacks against Canada’s Jewish community are spiking, noting that the synagogue he attends in Toronto, Holt Blossom, was defaced with graffiti on Wednesday morning.
When asked what the government was doing to quell the spike in antisemitic attacks across Canada, Anandasangaree pointed to the Liberals’ Bill C-9 targeting hate symbols of hate and criminalizing obstruction of access to a place of worship.
The government’s announcement was applauded by Jewish groups such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).
But CIJA CEO Noah Shack argued that the Canada Community Security Program still needs significant improvement, such as additional funding and faster distribution of monies.
“The level of security now required to protect Jewish Canadians in Canada is shocking. These measures are necessary to ensure the safety of children going to school, families going to community centres, and people visiting their elderly parents,” Shack said in a statement.
“Moving forward, we urge the government to quickly fulfill its commitment to improve and significantly enhance funding for the Canada Community Security Program overall.”
Anandasangaree said on Wednesday he’s aware of frustrations over the heavy amount of paperwork required to receive funding through the CCSP and promised a more streamlined process soon.
“But let’s be very clear, the funding that we’re announcing today will be going out the door starting this week,” the minister promised.
National Post, with files from Stewart Lewis.
cnardi@postmedia.com
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