Canadian Arab Federation - Dispute With Jason Kenney and Federal Funding

Dispute With Jason Kenney and Federal Funding

In February 2009, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that he would review and possibly reduce or eliminate federal funding to the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF). Reportedly, this was prompted when CAF president Khaled Mouammar called Kenney a "professional whore" for supporting Israel and criticizing the presence of Hezbollah and Hamas flags at recent protests in Toronto. Kenney justified the decision by stating groups whose leaders say “intolerant or hateful things” should be denied taxpayer funding. Kenney stated that "We should not be rewarding those who express views that are contrary to Canada's best liberal values of tolerance and mutual respect."

CAF President Mouammar responded that Kenney's decision was "vindictive" and accused him of promoting Islamophobia internationally. He also stated that the government of Stephen Harper "is anti-Arab and anti-Muslim." He also criticized the government for refusing to meet with the Canadian Arab Federation or the Canadian Islamic Congress since it came to power in 2005. Mouammar also stated that the proposed cuts would damage settlement programs run by the CAF in Toronto which teach new immigrants language and job searching skills.

CAF executive director Mohamed Boudjenane suggested that the government's motive for punishing the CAF was political, stating that "They maybe decided to go after the Zionist vote, like Reisman and Schwartz and Tannenbaum – people who used to be Liberal." He also stated that the "Government cannot tell one group that they deserve tax money and another that they don't. We just want to be able to express our views like all citizens."

Jonathan Kay, writing in the National Post, stated that the CAF is "a radicalized embarrassment to Canadian Arabs” and the government was justified in removing its funding. Kay recounted a meeting with Mouammar and a CAF colleague with the National Post editorial board in 2008 during which Kay claimed that the CAF “laid blame for virtually every problem the world faces on Israel — including the alienation of Arab-Canadian children in Canada's public school system.” Kay also stated that one of the representatives stated that he had sent his daughter for education overseas “because the inclusion of Israel in Canadian textbooks was too traumatic for her to endure.”

Margaret Wente wrote in the Globe and Mail that the CAF should be free to express its opinions but that it should not be entitled to government funding due to its anti-Israel views. The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) also supported cutting funding to the CAF, stating that it "has shown poor judgment and disgraceful behaviour." B'nai Brith Canada issued a press release supporting Kenney's proposal, stating that the CAF "has engaged in inflammatory rhetoric, and the promotion of antisemitic and pro-terrorist propaganda."

In a subsequent interview with the Canadian Jewish News (CJN), Kenney again criticized CAF President Mouammar, stating that:

“The more Mr. Mouammar... speaks, the more clear it is that he doesn’t speak for the vast majority of Canadians of Arab origin, who are honest, decent, thoughtful, democratic, moderate people; most of whom came to this country seeking life in a stable, liberal democracy, not this kind of shrill, cartoonish voice of extremism that he too often represents.”

Regarding the CAF's claim that the funding cuts would damage settlement programs for immigrants, Kenney stated that this was "complete baloney" and that "There are no shortage of worthy organizations out there that can help us deliver solid settlement without us having to help finance the distribution of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad videos.”

Jim Karygiannis, a Liberal Party Toronto Member of Parliament, criticized Kenney for proposing to cut funding to the CAF and asked parliamentary ethics commissioner, Mary Dawson, to investigate whether Kenney is abusing his position. Karygiannis' complaint stated "I believe for the Minister to use his position and exert undue influence and or in this case instruct his officials to hold funding from such an NGO; this sets a bad precedent which clearly should not be allowed to stand. With this move the Minister sends out a signal to community-based NGOs to toe the line or risk losing their funding." Catherine MacQuarrie, assistant ethics commissioner, said the ethics office will assess Karygiannis' complaint. Kenney's assistant, former American Enterprise Institute lobbyist Alykhan Velshi, responded that Karygiannis' complaint was "ridiculous" and suggested that it was "disturbing" for an MP to stand up for a group that, in Velshi's perspective, had made "anti-semitic" comments. The National Post newspaper, owned by the Asper family's CanWest Global Communications, also criticized Karygiannis, accusing him trying to " political points with the many Arab and other ethnic voters in his riding."

In early March 2009, CAF President Mouammar subsequently stated, in an email to Arab groups, that the CAF was the victim of a "well-planned Zionist campaign." Mouammar wrote that:

"The Zionist campaign is being waged by the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith supported by some politicians...The campaign of intimidation launched by the Israeli lobby and their supporters is seeking to de-legitimize Arab Canadian institutions, services, access to public funds and to silence all criticism of Israel."

The email sharply criticized Jason Kenney, stating that he had made "inflammatory remarks" which have "inflamed a campaign to marginalize and demonize the already targeted Arab and Muslim Canadian communities." The email concluded with a request for Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "put an end to his dangerous campaign of attacking CAF with slanderous and damaging accusations for which he has provided no evidence." Mouammar's letter was later signed by approximately two dozen Arab organizations from across Canada, including the Palestine House, Canadian Lebanese for Dialogue and the Ottawa-based Ahlul Bayt Centre.

The CAF later stated that it is undemocratic and dangerous for a cabinet minister to "bully" an elected president and board of directors. CAF executive director Mohamed Boudjenane stated that he was "amazed" by Kenney's statements and that both sides should "agree to disagree on foreign policy," but that Kenney was "pouring oil on a fire." Mouammar stated that Kenney's threat to cut funding "means a minister of a crown ... depending on the people he likes or dislikes, he will grant taxpayer money for services... I think all settlement agencies should be very concerned with this issue."

In response to the email, a spokesperon from Jason Kenney stated that "this e-mail, by specifically naming the Canadian Jewish Congress and B'nai Brith, again shows he does not just disdain Zionists, but the Jewish community as a whole" and that "It's the ugliest, most vile sort of language. It's not surprising to us that he is again engaged in this sort of reprehensible rhetoric trying to pit community against community." Kenney's office later stated that the groups that signed the letter were "unrepresentative... of the grassroots of the community. Most of them barely exist even on letterhead, some don't have Web sites, or any ongoing operations or programs." Kenney's office specifically noted that the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations and the Islamic Society of North America had not signed the letter and that the groups that did sign represented a "tiny" and "quite radicalised minority" of Arab-Canadian organizations. Kenney also repeated his proposal to cut government funding to the CAF, stating that "Groups that promote hatred and anti-Semitism don't deserve a single red cent of taxpayer support. End of story."

The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) stated that Mouammar's accusations were "bizarre" and that the CAF "was a once-proud organization that has turned into nothing but a group whose sheer focus seems to be to attack Jews and Israel."

B'nai Brith Canada stated that Mouammar's accusations "that Jewish groups have co-opted media outlets, such as the National Post, and even the government, to do their bidding smacks of age-old anti-Semitic conspiracy theories." It also stated that "we are Zionists who wear the label proudly. We will continue to oppose each and every effort that seeks to delegitimize the Jewish state and its supporters. We will denounce those voices promoting hate, whether emanating from Canadian universities, unions or from the head of an Arab organization whose mandate to settle newcomers to this country has been seriously put into question."

On March 13, 2009 Kenney gave an interview with the Canwest News Service and Global National in which he stated that a final decision about cutting funding to the CAF will be made soon. Kenney again sharply criticized the CAF, stating that "I can tell you, at my ministry, I have no intention of funding that organization as long as it has the current leadership that apologizes for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, says they should be able to operate legally, that promotes hateful and extreme views, particularly the most pernicious and durable form of hatred, which is anti-Semitism." He also stated that there are many moderate organizations that can fulfil the projects that were contracted to the CAF. However, he suggested that the threat to cut funding could be removed if more moderate leaders were in place, stating that "I think if the character of the organization were to change and there were to be a leadership of that group that was much more in keeping with our Canadian values, broadly understood, I would be entirely comfortable with them being a service delivery partner of our ministry." Kenney was accompanied to and from the interview by two RCMP bodyguards due to "threat assessment" conducted by the RCMP reportedly concluded that he needs full-time personal security.

The CAF' member organizations issued a statement supporting CAF President Khaled Mouammar, although it did state that Mouammar's accusation that Kenney was a "professional whore" was "unfortunate." Wahida Valiante, President of the Canadian Islamic Congress stated that Kenney should "not use his position to intimidate or pummel his critics and potentially cause enormous collateral damage in the process." She also compared the feud between Kenney and Mouammar to the actions of former Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis who intervened to arrange the revocation of the liquor license of Frank Roncarelli, an action which was eventually deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court of Canada.

On March 18, 2009 the Rick Stewart, associate assistant deputy minister, operations, sent a letter CAF President Khaled Mouammar which stated that the government will not renew a two-year, $2.1-million contract, which expires at the end of March, for immigrant language instruction provided by the federation. A $473,873 contract for immigrant job search assistance may not be renewed when it expires March 31, 2010, although a final decision on this has not been made. Stewart's letter included a statement from Kenney justifying the decision to halt funding. Kenney wrote that the decision not based solely on Mouammar's description of him as a "professional whore" but rather that:

"Serious concerns have arisen with respect to certain public statements that have been made by yourself or other officials of the CAF. These statements have included the promotion of hatred, anti-Semitism and support for the banned terrorist organizations Hamas and Hezbollah. The objectionable nature of these public statements in that they appear to reflect the CAF's evident support for terrorist organizations and positions on its part which are arguably anti-Semitic raises serious questions about the integrity of your organization and has undermined the government's confidence in the CAF as an appropriate partner for the delivery of settlement services to newcomers."

In late March 2009, the CAF announced that it is filing a court challenge against Kenney over his decision to revoke the CAF's federal funding. The CAF court documents stated that Kenney's decision erred in law by breaching an agreement to fund the language programs and also breached the principle of fairness. The CAF is asking the Court to quash the decision and, in the interim, for an injunction to keep the funding coming while the case is heard. The federation being represented by Toronto lawyers Barbara Jackman and Hadayt Nazami

In a later interview, CAF executive director Mohamed Boudjenane stated that Mouammar's comment was misconstrued, explaining that:

"A political whore, in the Oxford dictionary, is someone who is willing to sell his political principles for gain. It has nothing to do with the derogatory term."