VDLC Endorses Petition E-1999

The VDLC discussed parliamentary petition E-1999, launched by New Democratic Party MP Pierre Luc-Dusseault, at our regular meeting on February 19th.

Delegates voted to endorse the petition, in support of ending inappropriate uses of charitable status in Canada, and consistent with our established opposition to the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.  

The following motion was adopted: 

Subject:  Jewish National Fund and the Income Tax Act

BECAUSE New Democratic Party Member of Parliament for Sherbrooke, Quebec, Pierre-Luc Dusseault has launched parliamentary petition E-1999 calling for the Jewish National Fund to be deregistered as a charity due to its engagement in discriminatory practices, support for a foreign army, and violations of Canadian and International Law; and

• BECAUSE the petition presents an overview of the rationale for deregistering the JNF as follows:
  The Jewish National Fund (JNF)—whose branch, JNF Canada, is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency—engages in discriminatory practices as its landholdings are chartered for exclusively Jewish ownership, lease, and benefit, as noted by the United Nations, the US State Department, a former attorney general of Israel, and the JNF itself;
• Evidence strongly indicates that JNF Canada violates the Income Tax Act, common law, and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) policy guidance CG-002 as it supports a foreign army through the building of roads, training facilities, and other infrastructure that is either entirely or primarily for the benefit of the Israel Defence Forces;
• JNF Canada violates Canadian and international law by enabling physical changes within Occupied Territory, thereby helping Israel effectively annex land within Occupied Territory, and in the case of East Jerusalem, deepen control over land already annexed illegally. Notably, the JNF Canada-funded Canada Park was built on the lands of three Palestinian villages destroyed following the 1967 war in direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention;
• JNF Canada materials depict the Occupied Territory as part of Israel, a representation that runs contrary to Canadian foreign policy and international law; and

BECAUSE last month the Beth Oloth Charitable Organization, based in Toronto, had its charitable status revoked on the basis of supporting a foreign army (Israeli Defense Force); and

BECAUSE in 2018 the VDLC adopted a policy regarding support for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions with regards to the occupation of Palestinian territories,      

THE VANCOUVER AND DISTRICT LABOUR COUNCIL WILL endorse parliamentary petition E-1999.

The petition can be viewed and signed HERE.