The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and the Allied Jewish Community Services (AJCS) have set up a Quebec Policy Research Institute to find out how many Jews are leaving the province and the reasons for doing so.
The institute, which has a two-year mandate, will be headed by Irwin Cotler, a law professor at McGill University. There will be five members from the CJC, five from the AJCS and five from academic circles. The institute has a budget of $250,000 which has been provided by leading Jewish businessmen. All findings will be made public.
“In an increasingly nationalistic Quebec, the Jewish community has to be able to plan for the well-being of the community in terms of Jewish education, health and welfare, the effects on professionals, particularly doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses and the small businessman,” Manny Batshaw, AJCS executive vice-president stressed.
Since the election last year of the Parti Quebecois, which wants to secede from Canada, there have been reports that Jews and other English-speaking residents of Quebec have been moving out of the province.
Among the members of the institute are Charles Bronfman, Jacques Delmar, Joina Goldstein and Harold Cummings. Alan Rose, the CJC’s executive vice-president, will be the coordinator and senior professional on the project. Mike Yarowsky will serve as coordinator of activities between the Jewish community and the Quebec government.
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