Another annual increase of antisemitic behaviour in Canada has one Jewish advocacy organization working for change.

The Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents produced by the League for Human Rights, a branch of the national organization B'nai Brith, reports each year the amount of antisemitic incidents reported to and monitored by the League, including data from police and law enforcement agency records.

2018 marked the third year in a row that saw a record-setting rise in antisemitic incidents in Canada.

2,041 incidents were recorded for the year, a marked 16.5 per cent increase over the preceding year. Vandalism and general violence continued to be extremely prevalent according to the report, however, harassment emerged as the most dominant form of hate act for 2018, a 28.4 per cent increase compared with 2017 and over 60 per cent higher than rates in 2015.

A 143 per cent increase of antisemitism rates in the prairies was reflected by the increase of 54 incidents in 2018 from 2017. The report also noted that perpetrators responsible for acts of harassment and vandalism are seldom held accountable for their actions.

“We are experiencing a disturbing new normal when it comes to antisemitism in this country, with expressions of anti-Jewish hatred surfacing in regions that are typically less prone to such prejudices,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada.

80 per cent of incidents reportedly happened online, taking place on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and email.

In response to this, B'nai Brith representatives have proposed a number of recommendations on how to better combat online hatred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights on May 2, 2019.

Oral and written proposals were submitted about the issue to the House. B'nai Brith has proposed developing an action plan to counter online hate in response to the growing number of antisemitic instances happening online.

"To be both principled and effective, any law standing against incitement to hatred has to balance the right to freedom of expression with the right to freedom from incitement to hatred and discrimination," said David Matas, Senior Legal Counsel.

Brian Herman, Director and Government Relations, said in his testimony that Parliamentarians must consider ways to more effectively collect and share data, strengthen legal framework, and improve law enforcement training. Further improvements made to communications among government, industry, and communities affected by online hate and more robust governance for social media platforms were also suggested.

"It is easy enough to support respect for any human right where its opposition is a human rights violation. The task becomes more difficult, however, where the opposition to respect for one human right is respect for another human right," said Matas in his concluding statements to the Committee.

"In light of the prevalence and harm of online hate, the task in this area has become urgent. B’nai Brith Canada welcomes the fact that the Committee on Justice and Human Rights has taken it on."