Advocacy @ HBT: The week of March 27, 2026

Advocacy @ HBT: Updates at Holy Blossom, at City Hall and in the Press 

We have two updates and an article to share with you this week.  

Last Shabbat, our local Member of Parliament, Leslie Church, brought Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, to join us for tefilla and a small meeting with members of our synagogue’s Advocacy Committee, Security Committee, and clergy. You can watch Rabbi Splansky’s exceptional remarks from the bimah, including where she spoke directly to the Minister, here.  In our meeting with the Minister, our team repeatedly expressed that hate speech leads to hate action, that the good laws of our country are not being enforced as they should be, and that the funding promised by the federal government is nowhere near enough to secure our safety. Finally, we stressed that fear of a mass casualty event targeting our community (as mentioned in the ITAC report) is something that the government must tirelessly fight – not mourn and commit itself to solving after the fact.  

Second, City Councillor James Pasternak successfully advanced a motion that was adopted by City Council this week to address the ongoing hate protests at Bathurst and Sheppard. You can read the text of the motion here. To quote Councillor Pasternak, “I brought forward this motion to stand up for residents at Bathurst & Sheppard—and across Toronto. The motion calls for a firm condemnation of hateful protests, stronger enforcement, and meaningful action to protect our communities and uphold the rule of law. I’m grateful for Council’s support and eager to see this put into action.”   

Finally, Canadian journalist and podcast host Jesse Brown authored a painful but insightful editorial in the Atlantic this week. You can read it here. Entitled “Canada’s Polite Pogrom,” we encourage you to share the article with friends and family. Some of it will be deeply familiar to you, while other elements may surprise and move you to action.  

Learn more about Advocacy here.