Date
Monday
May 9, 2022
7:30 - 9:00 PM
CONFRONTING ANTISEMITISM
SPEAKERS
Irwin Cotler
The Honourable Irwin Cotler, P.C., O.C., O.Q., Avocat Emerite, is the founder and international chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University, a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and an international human rights lawyer. He was named Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism in November 2020.
Throughout his career, Mr. Cotler demonstrated strong leadership in the fight against racism, antisemitism, and hate, and in preserving human rights. As Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 to 2006, Mr. Cotler launched Canada’s first National Justice Initiative Against Racism and Hate, initiated Canada’s first legislation to combat Trafficking in Women and Children, and initiated the first-ever prosecution for the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
He also helped make the Supreme Court of Canada the world’s most gender-representative supreme court, appointed the first-ever Indigenous and visible minority justices to the Ontario Court of Appeal, and led the adoption of the Civil Marriage Act.
Mr. Cotler was previously chair of the International Commission of Inquiry into the Fate and Whereabouts of Raoul Wallenberg; member of the1988 Commission of Inquiry into the Crime of Apartheid; serves as a member of the Organization of American States Independent Panel of Legal Experts on Venezuela; and is presently the Canadian member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom.
Mr. Cotler is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He is the recipient of 17honorary doctorates and many other very prestigious awards from institutions in Canada and around the world. He was also previously nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Linda Frum
The Honourable Linda Frum is a former member of the Senate of Canada and a former Chair of the Senate Conservative Caucus. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and is also the Chair of the Federation’s new Countering Antisemitism and Hate committee. She is a board member of UN Watch and a past board member of NGO Watch, the Conservative Fund of Canada, Upper Canada College, Bishop Strachan School, the Art Gallery of Ontario Foundation, Mount Sinai Hospital, and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.
A fierce advocate for human rights in Iran, Linda has co-sponsored Iran Accountability Week on Parliament Hill. She is also known for her legislative efforts to eliminate foreign funding in Canadian elections. Introduced in the 42nd Parliament, the Eliminating Foreign Funding in Elections Act (Bill S-239) sought to close a loophole that allows Canadian third party groups to use foreign funds for election purposes.
She also successfully introduced Canadian Jewish Heritage Month Act (Bill S-232) which designates the month of May as an officially recognized month to honour the contributions of Canada’s Jewish community.
In recognition of her civic contributions, Linda has received the Golda Meir Leadership Award from the State of Israel Bonds, an honourary Doctor of Humane Letters from Yeshiva University, and the Rothschild Humanitarian Award from Shaare Zedek Hospital. Linda was awarded an honourary degree from Hebrew University for her leadership based on the principles of equality, freedom, and human rights.
A former journalist and author, Linda was a columnist with the National Post, a contributing editor to Maclean’s Magazine, and a Gemini-Award winning documentarian. She lives in Toronto with her husband Howard Sokolowski and together they have five children and two grandchildren.