Violence against every religious community deserves the same public response

Over the last few months, there have been numerous attacks on Jewish people and their community centres and synagogues. Canadian political leaders have responded swiftly with condemnations, increased funding and promises of tougher enforcement. That response stands in sharp contrast to the more muted reaction to the widespread desecration and burning of Christian churches over the past five years.

On May 7, for example, three men leaving the Chasidei Bobov Synagogue in Toronto were shot at by assailants in an automobile. Fortunately, only one man was struck by a projectile from an imitation firearm. Five people have been arrested, and the police expect to charge a couple of others.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was “disgusted” by the attacks and expected those responsible to be punished to the full extent of the law. On May 8, Prime Minister Mark Carney called the attacks “an abhorrent act of antisemitism” and pledged his full support to law enforcement.

On May 6, the federal government committed $75 million on top of the $10 million awarded in March to protect Jewish community centres and synagogues. On June 1, the Prime Minister reiterated that “antisemitism has surged to levels not seen in the postwar period” and that antisemitism in Canada is “especially severe and demands a targeted response.” On the same day, he announced the creation of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion, a broad advisory council whose mandate includes studying the drivers of antisemitism in Canada.

If Carney is serious about thwarting crimes against Jews and synagogues, he should also turn his attention to charging those who desecrated or burned down Christian churches, something that has been happening over the past five years.

To understand the background, it is worth briefly reviewing the events of May 2021. The Kamloops Indian Band claimed that 215 children from the Roman Catholic residential school had died and were unceremoniously buried in the residential schoolyard. So far, no forensic evidence has verified the band’s claim. Nevertheless, after the claim was published, more than 100 churches were desecrated or set on fire.

The church arsons reached a critical level in 2024, when two immigrants living above the House of Covenant International Church in Winnipeg died when the building was set on fire. Thankfully, a person has been charged with this crime.

A few years earlier, when former prime minister Justin Trudeau was asked to condemn the attacks against Canadian churches, he correctly replied that “it is unacceptable and wrong that acts of vandalism and arson are being seen across the country.” However, this condemnation was soon tempered when his former principal secretary, Gerald Butts, said that the burnings “may be understandable.”

Canadians will also remember that following the May 27, 2021, proclamation by the Kamloops Indian Band, Trudeau had the Canadian flag flown at half-mast on public buildings for more than five months, supposedly in mourning for the school children who were believed to be buried in the residential schoolyard.

Clearly, the official response to the crimes perpetrated against Christian churches has been weak. Surprisingly, few national leaders have condemned these attacks, and equally disheartening, few perpetrators have been charged and brought to justice. In fact, a Macdonald-Laurier Institute study claimed that fewer than four per cent of the church arsons between 2021 and 2023 resulted in charges.

To date, there have been no official hearings, no task forces, and no national inquiries to thoroughly investigate the widespread desecration of churches. Surely, an official inquiry is needed to understand why churches were attacked and, more importantly, to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The failure of Canadian authorities to treat attacks against Christian churches the same way they are treating attacks against Jewish synagogues is hypocritical. Attacks on all religious buildings and people are unacceptable. Attacks on Muslims and Jews get attention, as they should, but let’s not forget the many attacks on Christian churches.

Rodney A. Clifton is a professor emeritus at the University of Manitoba and a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He is the co-editor with Mark DeWolf of From Truth Comes Reconciliation: An Assessment of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report and co-editor with William Brooks of The Peril of Woke Schools and the Value of Traditional Education.