Samidoun issues cease-and-desist to Trudeau, Poilievre, LeBlanc
They are reaping what they have sown. And if they don’t like that, perhaps they should have considered that before calling for the destruction of not only our allies, but of Canada as well,’ said the CEO of Allies for a Strong Canada
Samidoun, the anti-Israel advocacy group based in Vancouver that was recently added to Canada’s terror list, is threatening to sue Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for “recklessly and maliciously” accusing Samidoun of being a terrorist entity.
The letter also threatens to sue Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s public safety minister, and demands a retraction and apology from each of the three politicians.
“The Liberals cannot legislate away our right to free speech. If they contend we are terrorists, let them prove it in court,” said Charlotte Kates, one of Samidoun’s founding members, in a statement.
Kates herself has been under a Vancouver police hate-speech investigation for months, although no charges have been laid, following a speech in which she praised the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.
“The mask has been ripped off, and now they are trying to desperately put the genie back in the bottle,” said Michael Westcott, the CEO of Allies for a Strong Canada, a group founded to stand against rising antisemitism in Canada.
“They are reaping what they have sown. And if they don’t like that, perhaps they should have considered that before calling for the destruction of not only our allies, but of Canada as well.”
The letter, sent by Toronto lawyer Stephen Ellis, is a cease-and-desist notice to Trudeau, Poilievre and LeBlanc, warning them that they may face a libel lawsuit if they continue to call Samidoun a terrorist group. Ellis, a co-founder of the Legal Centre for Palestine, also represented former Ontario NDP MPP Sarah Jama, who threatened libel action against Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said Jama has a “long and well-documented history of antisemitism.”