Poilievre promises to ban pro-terror group Samidoun if elected

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on the federal government to list the group Samidoun as a terrorist entity under Canadian law and vowing to do so himself should his party form the next government. 

His commitment follows calls from national Jewish advocacy organizations, such as the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which note the group’s alleged ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which Canada has listed as a terrorist group since 2003.

That group, which Public Safety Canada defines as an “Islamist communist group” committed to establishing a Palestinian state and “the destruction of Israel,” was the first Palestinian group to employ “suicide squads,” according to the federal government. 

Samidoun has chapters in Canada and has gained attention through public statements made by one of its leaders and the actions taken by its supporters since Hamas, a listed terrorist organization, attacked southern Israel last October, triggering the current Israel-Hamas war, which has expanded into Lebanon.

B.C. NDP Leader David Eby, who is campaigning for re-election, took to X to criticize a protest staged by the group on Monday for its “hateful rhetoric.” Monday marked one year from when Hamas launched its surprise attacks, killing around 1,200 people in southern Israel, most of whom were civilians.

Another 250 were taken hostage and around 100 still remain in Hamas captivity.

After last year’s Oct. 7 attacks, Israel retaliated by launching a war that has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between militants and civilians. International aid groups have called for the war to end, citing the death toll among women and children and the spread of disease and malnutrition, with most of the population on the Gaza Strip displaced.

According to videos from the Vancouver protest shared on social media, a speaker told the crowd on Monday that “we are Hezbollah and we are Hamas.” Videos also shows some in the crowd burning Canadian flags and more chanting: “Death to Canada, death to the United States and death to Israel.” 

Back in May, Charlotte Kates who acts as the group’s international coordinator, was arrested by Vancouver police after delivering a speech where she praised the attack by Hamas as “heroic and brave.”

She was released on the direction not to participate in any rallies or protests. Kates was expected in court on Tuesday.

Standing outside the House of Commons in Ottawa, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pointed to her comments and said she also appeared on Iranian television following the attacks to make similar statements.

Poilievre told reporters on Tuesday that Samidoun, which is already prohibited in Germany, is nothing but “a front for an already banned terrorist group,” referring to Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

Samidoun’s website describes itself as network of “organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom.”

Poilievre said the group is responsible for repeatedly glorifying Hamas’s actions through protests, including ones held on Monday.

Citing the rise in reported hate crimes and antisemitic incidents, Poilievre called on the federal government to list Samidoun as a terrorist entity “now.” Once listed, a group’s assets are frozen and it becomes a crime for anyone to assist them.

Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s office has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Poilievre said on Tuesday that “it’s easy to blame” the violence which has been directed towards the Jewish community over the past year “as simply a reaction to a conflict in the Middle East.”

But that “doesn’t make sense,” Poilievre said, noting there have been conflicts in the region before that have not led to same domestic strife seen over the past year.

He went on to accuse Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for allowing such hate to flourish, particularly against the Jewish community.

Poilievre also said Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly refused to condemn words used in certain chants such as “from the river to the sea,” during question period on Monday. Afterwards, Joly accused Poilievre of playing politics on the backs of victims and suggested he is unfit for leadership.

While Jewish leaders and other supporters of Israel say the slogan “from the river to the sea” refers to the destruction of Israel, pro-Palestinian and other supporters say it is a call for freedom for the Palestinian people.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Joly said Poilievre himself was guilty of “hypocrisy” for saying he stands against antisemitism while not disavowing the individual seen carrying a Nazi flag during the 2022 ‘Freedom Convoy’ that gridlocked downtown Ottawa.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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