Canadian Executive Donates to Jewish Groups After Making Slurs

The B’nai B’rith League for Human Rights has recommended that no action be taken against a transportation company president, who made slurring anti-Jewish remarks against three Jewish-owned toy firms and then offered apologies and made cash donations to six Jewish organizations “to foster better relations between the Jewish faith and other religions in Canada.”

Robert Stanley, president of the Howell Transport Canada Corporation of Toronto, did not deny sending a letter to eight other transport firms in which he made disparaging remarks about the practices of the three firms. He suggested they cheated on weights and identified them with people “who hold their church services on Saturdays and wear funny little hats.”

The three toy firms are owned by Stanley Gottfried of Toronto who took the problem to the Canadian Jewish Congress which complained to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which enforces a code forbidding religious bias in business.

Ted Greenfield, past chairman of the Human Rights League, said the racist remarks were in a letter dated April 15 and directed against Gottfried, president of Gottfried Importing Co.

Stanley’s initial reaction to the complaints of bias was a written apology in which he suggested his letter had been “misunderstood” and had not been intended to give offense. Subsequently, when news about the letter spread through Toronto and Montreal and Stanley’s firm began to get cancellations of contracts reportedly worth more than $500,000, Stanley revised his response.

Stanley wrote a lengthy and less ambiguous defense to Gottfried, apologizing to him. Stanley also sent a $1,000 contribution to each of six Jewish charities, and to one interfaith cause, also for $1,000.

In his letter to Gottfried, Stanley wrote that he apologized “for comments made about you” and that “I wish to express my deep regret for any embarrassment caused to you. I deeply regret these disparaging remarks were ever made. It is clear that the shock and dismay that I expect you feel must be very painful indeed.” He said his remarks were “inexcusable and ill-considered.”

His donations were sent to B’nai B’rith of Toronto, Associated Hebrew Schools of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital of Toronto, Mount Sinai Hospital of Montreal, Baycrest Center for the Aged in Toronto, the United Jewish Appeal of Toronto, and the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews.

Greenfield made public the text of a letter to the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the Ontario Human Rights Commission and the Quebec Human Rights Commission, in which the Human Rights League recommended the case be dropped, as Gottfried had asked.

Greenfield said the League considered Stanley’s letter of apology and his contributions as “recognition” by Stanley of the gravity of his action, but he added the League does not feel that financial compensation in any way lessened the damage caused by Stanley’s biased action.