An amendment to the Canadian Bill of Rights which would prevent foreign agencies from using discrimination as a basis for investing in Canada has been introduced in the Canadian Parliament by Robert Kaplan, Liberal M P for a Toronto Riding, It is a private member’s bill which Kaplan says is needed in view of the international efforts being made by Arab governments and agencies to blacklist Jewish business interests.
“It takes good reason to propose an amendment to a statute of such integrity as the Canadian Bill of Rights,” the MP said. “But that bill is directed only to acts of discrimination that have their origin within the Canadian community.” Terming his amendment a move to protect Canada from “this disgraceful international development,” Kaplan said, “Who would have thought when the Bill of Rights was enacted that threats to human rights and equality within Canada would come from direct meddling by the national policies of some foreign governments to encourage discrimination in Canada?”
The Kaplan, amendment stipulates that a contract is not binding on any person in Canada if any party to the contract makes it a condition of performance that “some other party…refrain from having commercial relations with any person or persons, whether within Canada or not, on the basis of race, national origin, color, religion or sex.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
