Q1. Do you recognize the fundamental rights of the Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel to full equality? Will you if elected take steps to combat anti-Palestinian racism?

Yes.

The Communist Party condemns the systemic discrimination faced by Palestinian citizens of Israel. We recognize that Israel’s apartheid policies impose racist oppression on Palestinians, both within Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories.

In Canada, anti-Palestinian racism has surged since the genocide against Gaza began in 2023. Canada’s economic ties to U.S. imperialism and its strategic interests in Israel and the Middle East have led to intensified attacks on anti-Zionists, particularly Palestinian-Canadians, by Zionist forces and political entities aligned with corporate power.

At the same time, hate speech and hate crimes against Indigenous people, women, immigrants, racialized communities, and 2SLGBTIQ individuals have increased. The ruling class fuels division and scapegoating to deepen exploitation, driving rises in racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, misogyny, transphobia, and homophobia.

The Communist Party calls for stronger enforcement and expansion of anti-hate legislation and demands that the Ontario government stop conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. We support the explicit inclusion of anti-Palestinian discrimination in government, school board, labour union, and organizational anti-discrimination policies.

Q2. Do you respect, protect and promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties as stipulated in UN resolution 194?

Yes.

The Communist Party calls for Canada to immediately adopt a foreign policy of peace and disarmament and work to achieve a truly sustainable peace in the region, starting what the majority of the world’s nations have been calling for for decades: the end of Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state based on Israel’s 1967 borders with Jerusalem as the capital and including the right of return for refugees who fled when Israel was founded in 1948.

Q3. Do you support ending Israeli occupation and colonization of all Arab lands that were permitted to stand for almost 58 years, and dismantling the Wall, and support the necessary concrete measures to implement such a commitment?

Yes.

The Communist Party has been consistent since 1967 in its call for the ending of the occupation of all Arab lands, including those belonging to Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. We have condemned the recent expansion of Israeli occupation of Syrian lands in recent months. We support the International Court of Justice’s opinion that the Apartheid Wall must be dismantled.

Q4. Do you recognize the rights of Ontarians to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement as a non-violent strategy to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and all international humanitarian laws? Would you consider repealing the 2016 anti-Palestinian/anti-BDS motion passed by the Ontario legislature?

Yes.

The Communist Party has supported the call for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions from Palestine since it was issued in 2004. We have condemned anti-BDS motions in the federal and provincial parliaments as attacks on freedom of expression designed to provide cover for Israel’s illegal occupation.

Q5. Are you prepared to support government sanctions in this regard for Israel’s human rights violations against the people of Palestine?

Yes.

We demand immediate sanctions on Israel, a complete halt to all weapons shipments to and from Israel and government support for the global BDS campaign against Israeli apartheid. We call for Canadian material support for the massive project of rebuilding the housing, infrastructure, schools and medical facilities destroyed by Israel in Gaza.

Would you support sanctions against Israel wine sold in Ontario?

Yes.

Would you support sanctions of goods from illegally occupied Palestine?

Yes.

Do you support a two way arms embargo to stop arms trade with Israel?

Yes.

Q6. Do you support the Canadian government instituting a bilateral military embargo, until Israel complies with international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and dismantles its apartheid regime?

Yes.

The Communist Party has condemned the Canadian government as complicit in the genocide against Palestinians by providing Israel with diplomatic and military aid, even after the motion for an arms embargo was passed by Parliament in Spring 2024.

Q7. Do you support justice for the Palestinian people by holding Israel accountable for its ethnic cleansing, war crimes, apartheid and genocide?

Yes.

The Communist Party has supported South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. We condemn the Canadian government’s lack of commitment to honour the court’s decisions. We condemn the war crimes committed by the Israeli government and military and we demand that Canada support the arrest of the corrupt war criminals Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

Q8. Do you oppose the anti-Palestinian, anti-democratic and politically charged IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and do you pledge to reverse this racist Ontario government position?

Yes.

The Communist Party has spoken out against the IHRA definition of anti-semitism and has condemned its adoption. We reject the IHRA definition which falsely declares any criticism of the apartheid policies of the state of Israel to be “anti-semitism”. We have included the demand to “stop confusing anti-Zionism with anti-semitism” as a main policy point on our election leaflets.

Q9. Do you oppose foreign countries influencing Canadian domestic policy, and would you work to reverse the listing of the Palestinian resistance organizations on the terrorist list? Do you feel Canada’s policies on these important issues should be decided by what the Israeli government dictates?

The Communist Party condemns the inclusion of the Palestinian political organizations and even Palestinian solidarity organizations such as Samidoun on the list of terrorist entities by Canada. We call on all political, social, and democratic forces to organize and denounce this attack on freedom of expression in the context of the criminalization of solidarity with Palestine. Unity is needed against any attempt to criminalize the Palestine solidarity movement.

We are also concerned that, more broadly, any expression of international solidarity is increasingly being targeted under the pretext of either foreign interference or terrorist association. There has been a lot of propaganda and fear mongering about foreign interference as part of the drive to war against China. This propaganda campaign has ignored the real political interference that has been happening for years from powerful foreign actors such as the United States and Israel. This hypocrisy is glaring, as neither CSIS nor the government has ever seriously investigated or condemned the political interference of these countries or other close allies of Canadian imperialism.

The influence of Israel on Canadian politics has been significant and largely ignored by both the government and CSIS. Israel maintains strong connections to various Canadian organizations, including political advocacy groups and think tanks. For instance, groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and B’nai Brith Canada lobby on behalf of Israeli interests and exert considerable pressure on Canadian foreign policy regarding Palestine. Politicians across party lines have routinely supported Israel’s policies, even when those policies involve violations of international law, such as illegal settlement expansion in Palestinian territories.

Q. 10. Do you support the enforcement of the Canadian Foreign Enlistment Act? Would you ensure the police under provincial oversight would investigate if called upon in this regard?

Yes.

There have been flagrant violations of the Canadian Foreign Enlistment act in regards to both Israel and Ukraine.

Q. 11 Will you hold the police accountable for any infringements / attempts to silence civil liberties? Do you support investigations into potential hate crimes against Palestinian solidarity activists exercising their civil liberties?

Yes.

We call for the strengthening of civilian control over police and the prosecution of police misconduct. The obvious bias against the Palestine solidarity movement at Ontario’s Hate Crimes Working Group is dangerous and conflates Palestine solidarity with anti-semitism.

Q12. Do you condemn Israel’s killing, injuring, and detaining of children, and the trauma that is being inflicted on children through the military occupation and genocide?

Yes.

Israel’s imprisoning of hundreds of children is a gross human rights violation and a war crime. The fact that the population of Gaza is disproportionately children makes the bombing of civilians which took place daily for 15 months even more inhuman

I have attended many anti-genocide pro-Palestinian protests in Ottawa, do my best to BDS, tweet much on X about it, send emails, sign petitions, etc. One thing I have thought about, and maybe you have an answer, is given this is a provincial election: that the premier and ministers should be speaking out against Israel instead of condemning anti-genocide protesters. That since universities and colleges fall under the province, that the premier and ministers should have at least spoken out and strongly encouraged (if they can’t direct) institutions to divest from Israel, and to cease any agreements between Ontario institutions and Israeli post-secondary institutions, as their research (weapons, AI, etc) may well be used to facilitate genocide.

Comment: This was harsh and emotional, but needed. Thanks.

Q4: Do you recognize the rights of Ontarians to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement as a non-violent strategy to force Israel to abide by UN resolutions and all international humanitarian laws? Would you consider repealing the 2016 anti-Palestinian/anti-BDS motion passed the Ontario legislature?
Response: A priori yes, but I would need a deeper to look into the matter.

Q5 (Supplementary): Would you support sanctions against Israel wine sold in Ontario? I would have to look into this. I support cutting ties with businesses that support the IDF and made statements supporting wrongdoings.

Q8: Do you oppose the anti-Palestinian, anti-democratic and politically charged IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, and do you pledge to reverse this racist Ontario government position? While fighting antisemitism is absolutely necessary, using this definition as a political tool to silence Palestinian solidarity and activism is unacceptable.

Q9: Do you oppose foreign countries influencing Canadian domestic policy, and would you work to reverse the listing of the Palestinian resistance organizations on the terrorist list? Do you feel Canada’s policies on these important issues should be decided by what the Israeli government dictates? I oppose any foreign country influencing Canadian domestic policy—whether it be Israel, the U.S., or any other nation. Canada’s policies should be made in the best interests of Canadians, based on international law, human rights, and democratic principles, not dictated by foreign governments. Regarding the listing of Palestinian resistance organizations as terrorist groups, I believe that any such designation must be rooted in transparent, evidence-based assessments rather than political considerations. Canada must ensure that its terrorism listings are fair, free from foreign influence, and do not criminalize legitimate resistance to occupation or advocacy for Palestinian rights. If elected, I would push for a review of these designations to ensure they align with international human rights law and do not serve as a tool to silence Palestinian activism.

Q10: Do you support the enforcement of the Canadian Foreign Enlistment Act? Would you ensure the police under provincial oversight would investigate if called upon in this regard? I am not familiar with this.

Q11: Will you hold the police accountable for any infringements / attempts to silence civil liberties? Do you support investigations into potential hate crimes against Palestinian solidarity activists exercising their civil liberties? I would need to look into this more.

The liberation of Palestine is not just about land—it is about justice, dignity, and the fundamental right of a people to exist in freedom. As long as Palestine remains occupied, the world remains complicit in oppression. Their struggle is our struggle, because injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

Here in Canada, true liberation means breaking free from systems that silence voices, suppress truth, and prioritize power over people. It means standing against policies that enable oppression abroad while restricting freedom at home. Our liberation is intertwined—when we fight for Palestine, we fight for a world where justice prevails, where every voice is heard, and where no one is forced to live under the shadow of oppression.

Freedom is not given—it is taken, demanded, and fought for. We stand with Palestine because their freedom is our freedom, and their fight is our fight. Until Palestine is free, none of us are truly free.

Bahira Abdulsalam PhD PEng