Toronto, October 28, 2020—The Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA) is shocked that the Ford government has abused its power and circumvented democracy and public debate to ram through provisions of Bill 168, the Combating Antisemitism Act, through an Order-In-Council, which enshrines into law the flawed International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. This law will further conflate legitimate criticism of the policies of the State of Israel with antisemitism.
“OCUFA condemns antisemitism and all forms of racism and hatred in the strongest terms. However, we remain concerned with the IHRA’s flawed definition of antisemitism and its list of illustrative examples,” said OCUFA President Rahul Sapra. “The working definition, with its list of illustrative examples, conflates legitimate criticism of the state of the State of Israel with antisemitism and may compromise academic freedom at Ontario’s universities by promoting censorship on campus and beyond.”
The IHRA’s working definition and its list of illustrative examples restrict free speech and threaten academic freedom by limiting the ability of scholars to engage in pedagogy and scholarship that include critiques of a foreign state. The adopted definition and its application are likely to increase the ongoing intimidation, censorship, and attacks on scholars and academics who are critical of Israeli state policies.
This anti-democratic maneuver threatens the highly regarded principles of university autonomy and collegial governance. While the IHRA’s working definition is presented as “non-legally binding,” in the UK the government is requiring universities to adopt the IHRA’s definition and threatening funding cuts if they do not.
Bill 168, the Combating Antisemitism Act, was scheduled to go through public hearings this week and receive public submissions by October 30th. Ford’s heavy-handed move to ignore the democratic process and ram through provisions of this controversial bill demonstrates the government’s lack of respect for Ontarians and their rights to free speech and democratic engagement.
“We are alarmed that the government has bypassed the democratic process to push parts of this bill through. It makes one wonder whether the government was worried that this flawed bill would not hold up to public scrutiny or debate,” said Sapra. “We are equally concerned by the new Order-In-Council’s implications for Ontario’s universities and our members and will continue the important work of protecting academic freedom and free speech on Ontario’s university campuses.”
Founded in 1964, OCUFA represents 17,000 professors and academic librarians in 30 faculty associations across Ontario. It is committed to enhancing the quality of higher education in Ontario and recognizing the outstanding contributions of its members towards creating a world-class university system. For more information, please visit the OCUFA website at www.ocufa.on.ca.
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For more information, contact:
Ben Lewis, Communications Lead at 416-306-6033 or communications@ocufa.on.ca