Diversity and Inclusion Minister Ahmed Hussen has cut government funding to an anti-racism body, one of whose consultants posted anti-Semitic remarks on Twitter.
Posted at 2:53 p.m.
Updated at 5:21 p.m.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in this country. The anti-Semitic remarks made by Laith Marouf are reprehensible and hateful. We have notified the Community Media Advocacy Center (CMAC) that their funding has been cut and their project has been suspended,” Minister Hussen said on Twitter.
A series of controversial messages published by Laith Marouf have been denounced on social networks. In one of his publications, he writes that “Jewish white supremacists” should be “shot in the head”.
Mr. Marouf is a consultant for the Community Media Advocacy Center (CMAC), a non-profit organization supporting community and indigenous media whose mission is to end “colonialism and oppression in the media”.
Minister Hussen on Monday asked agency officials “to respond on how they hired Laith Marouf and how they plan to rectify the situation given the nature of his anti-Semitic and xenophobic comments.”
“We look forward to an appropriate response on their next steps and clear accountability in this regard,” he added.
Last Friday, Minister Hussen asked the Department of Canadian Heritage to “immediately carry out rigorous follow-ups” with the CMAC.
The organization had received a government grant of nearly $134,000 received under the Anti-Racism Action Program.
The organization announced in April that it would hold rallies in Montreal, Vancouver, Halifax, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa to find ways to remove barriers to access, representation and employment for people of color in the media.
With Mylène Crête, The Pressand The Canadian Press