North Star with Ellin Bessner A Senate committee has wrapped up a study of Canada's antisemitism problem. Why one Senator calls some witnesses problematic
The Senate didn’t attract much attention last month, when, on Dec. 8, the Standing Committee on Human Rights wrapped up its public hearings about antisemitism. Over the course of a full year they held eight meetings, heard from over 40 witnesses and received about 37 briefs. Now the senators and staffers are drafting their report.
But while communal Jewish leaders welcome the Senate’s attention to antisemitism, they maintain they don’t need another study that gathers dust on the shelves. Lawmakers have a mandated deadline of the end of 2026 to release the report—but one committee member, Senator Leo Housakos, the leader of the Conservative party in the Senate, wants the final document of non-binding recommendations to come out much sooner. He believes it is urgent to convince the Carney government to tackle “a terrible crisis, and we need action quickly to start protecting our Jewish community.”
Housakos feels he represents the voice of Canada’s mainstream Jewish community on the nine-member permanent committee, which currently lacks any Jewish senators. Four of those committee members, including the chair, have either signed open letters critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, or spoken about it in the Senate.
Housakos wasn’t thrilled by some of the anti-Zionist witnesses nvited to testify. He clashed with one witness, who said any groups that support the State of Israel should be destroyed. He also frowned on those who urged Canada to scrap the current IHRA definition of antisemitism, which the government adopted in 2019. The committee also heard that antisemitism is being exaggerated and in some cases, carried out by Jews on themselves.
On today’s episode of The CJN’s North Star podcast, Senator Leo Housakos joins host Ellin Bessner to explain his urgent priorities for the expected antisemitism report.
Related links
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Take a deep dive into the Senate’s hearings on antisemitism , which wrapped up Dec. 9, 2025.
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Why U of T professor Robert Brym told the Senate committee studying antisemitism they had been given “weaponized” information from some anti-Zionist witnesses, on North Star .
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Read what the House of Commons committee studying antisemitism recommended in its report on antisemitism in Canada, published in Dec. 2024, in The CJN .
Credits
- Host and writer:
Ellin Bessner info@thecjn.ca
- Production team:
Zachary Kauffman (senior producer),
Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music:
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