As Palestinian Canadians struggled to bring their families out of Gaza, the Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in the process of updating its anti-racism strategy. Despite calls from Palestinian community advocates to include recognition of anti-Palestinian racism in the plan, the updated strategy for 2024-2028 did not explicitly mention it. The document acknowledged hate towards various communities, including Palestinians, but did not list anti-Palestinian racism as a specific form of discrimination.
In response to inquiries, a spokesperson for the minister overseeing the strategy stated that the plan is designed to support all at-risk communities, including Palestinian Canadians. The government had consulted with Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian communities and allocated funding to support them.
Canadian MP Salma Zahid, who has been advocating for the inclusion of anti-Palestinian racism, organized roundtable discussions with Palestinians across Canada. She is preparing a report to highlight the systemic nature of this discrimination and propose recommendations to combat it. Despite the omission in the strategy, Zahid remains committed to pushing for recognition and action against anti-Palestinian racism.