Jewish groups, antisemitism envoy urge politicians not to use hate to score points

OTTAWA - After an outgoing federal envoy denounced some politicians for using antisemitism as a "partisan" prop, Jewish Canadian leaders are now calling on political parties to stop using it to score political points.

"It maddens me when they use Holocaust Remembrance Day as an opportunity to even advance positive actions for the Jewish people," said B'nai Brith advocacy head Richard Robertson.

"It becomes a form of tokenization."

In June, Deborah Lyons resigned early from her term as Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism. Canadian Heritage published her final report the following month.

In it, Lyons accused some political leaders of exploiting the threat posed by antisemitism for "political gain."

"Canadian political parties need to ref