This week, we hosted our sixth annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day, bringing Jewish social service organizations and policymakers together to discuss the issues facing the disability community. 

Read on to learn more. 

The CIJA Team  

On March 9, CIJA hosted its annual Jewish Disability Advocacy Day, bringing together members of the Jewish community, Jewish social service organizations, and policymakers to discuss ways we can make Canada a more inclusive society. A special thank-you to our keynote speaker, Canada’s Chief Accessibility Officer Stephanie Cadieux, and elected officials from all parties for joining us to discuss issues that matter. As noted, this year’s Jewish Disability Advocacy Day followed the Canada Disability Benefit (Bill C-22) that was unanimously passed by the House of Commons. If you haven’t already, please consider sending a note to thank your MP for passing the benefit.

Thank Your MP!

Now that the spring sitting is underway in Parliament, we’re looking forward to continuing our advocacy for the issues that matter most to Canada’s Jewish community. Top of mind is the long-awaited online harms legislation, which, because marginalized and vulnerable communities cannot afford more delay, we hope will be introduced soon. We all need new, effective tools to combat online hate in all its forms.

Recently the Canada Disability Benefit (Bill C-22) passed second reading in the Senate this week, and will be studied by the upper house's Social Affairs committee. This bill was previously passed through the House of Commons with unanimous support of all parties. To ensure Canadians living with disabilities and their families can access the support they need, we're calling on the Senate to pass the Canada Disability Benefit as quickly as possible.

Last year it emerged that the department of Canadian Heritage’s anti-racism program had provided funding to notorious antisemite Laith Marouf. It’s our hope that, as MP Anthony Housefather has requested, committee documents will be presented during this sitting that show the government is indeed taking meaningful steps to prevent another such incident in future.

Budget season this year comes amid a cost-of-living crisis that’s impacting Canadians from all backgrounds and walks of life. We anticipate the government will seek to introduce a low-cost and low-spending budget aimed at alleviating the impact of the ongoing crisis on Canadian families.

We were deeply concerned at the appearance of an antisemitic sign outside of a Jewish-owned business in downtown Toronto earlier this week. This hateful rhetoric accomplishes nothing and has no place in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada. We we’re pleased to see swift action taken by Toronto city officials in dealing with it.

CIJA in the News 

Community Calendar

March 27 | Unlearn It Virtual Workshop for Ontario Middle School Educators (4:30-6 p.m.)
April 5-April 13 | Passover 
April 17-18 | Yom HaShoah 
April 24-25 | Yom HaZikaron 
April 25-26 | Yom Ha’atzmaut
May 25-27 | Shavuot

Careers

CIJA is Hiring:

• Associate Director, Policy and Communications (Pacific Region)
• Program Coordinator, CIJA/Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver
• Associate Director, Communications and Media Relations (Quebec)
• Associate Director, Partnerships and Community Engagement (Quebec)

Chief Executive Officer, Jewish Federation of Winnipeg