Green Party Denounces Kenney for Unconscionable Attack on Christian Charity

OTTAWA -- Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed last week that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) decision to end its 35-year relationship with KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives was indeed politically motivated.

"Accusing KAIROS of being an anti-semitic group is truly reprehensible,” said Stephen LaFrenie, Green Party’s International Cooperation Critic. “Worse is the fact that the human rights work sponsored by KAIROS will be compromised by these irresponsible comments made on an international stage."

The Jewish community in Canada was also recently the target of a highly controversial Conservative mailer that painted the Liberal Party as anti-semites after attending Durban 1 a 2001 UN conference on racism.

“Not only are they wrong in their actions towards KAIROS, a group I fully support, but in an effort to further pander to and exploit the fears of my fellow Jews around the survival of the State of Israel they have shown an utter lack of leadership, as they divide Canadians along ethnic and religious lines,” said Ralph Benmergui, Senior Advisor to the Green Party of Canada and creator of the Vision TV mini-series My Israel.

“We need to ensure that these types of slanderous allegations by Ministers do not go unpunished," said Elizabeth May, Leader of Canada's Greens. "It begs the question, what does a member of Harper’s cabinet need to do to be dismissed?"

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Contact:
Debra Eindiguer
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Green Party of Canada
C: 613.240.8921
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