The suggestion that the Jewish community of Canada should have a representative in the Senate has been made in an editorial in the Montreal Gazette and endorsed by the Toronto Star.
The Montreal daily, referring to reports that the Prime Minister was considering changes in the composition of the Senate to make it more representative, proposed recognition of ethnic groups in Canada. “It would seem, for instance, that the time has come when the Government might recognize the importance of the Jewish population of Canada in considering appointments to the Senate, ” the paper declared.
“Of all ethnic groups in this country,” the editorial added, “apart from those of French and British descent, the Jewish people have one of the oldest historical claims… As the years have passed, the importance of the Jewish people in Canada has grown. They have made significant contributions to Canadian development. They brought to this country many skills which led to the establishment of new industries. They have made their cultural contributions in all the arts. They have added to the rich flavor of the Canadian mosaic.
“A representative of the Jewish people in the Senate of Canada would also have an historical fitness from the fact that Canada was the first part of the British Common-wealth in which a citizen of Jewish faith was elected to Parliament.”
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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.
