On July 9, The Globe and Mail published an opinion column entitled: “Canada needs to follow through on its promise to help Palestinians”. Authored by Deborah Cowen, Naomi Klein, Kyo Maclear, and Madeleine Thien, the first three authors all hold positions in Canadian universities, and Thien is a writer.

They detailed their view of the need for Canada to import more refugees from Gaza, writing that: “according to a Leger poll conducted last month, nearly half of Canadians believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Yet our government has not given Canadians the chance to live up to our duties under international law to provide refuge in the face of those atrocities, or to show the kind of consistent solidarity that we have with Ukrainians.”

It went unmentioned that the poll was of 1511 Canadians, so fewer than 750 Canadians held this belief. Additionally, their CTV source mentioned that “online surveys are not considered truly random samples.” Moreover, by their own acknowledgement, that means more than half of Canadians have not stated that they believe such allegations. If anything, the poll demonstrates the precise opposite of their intended goal.

Undeterred, the authors continued to bemoan the failure of the Canadian “Special Measures” program to bring Gazans to Canada, and stated, “in fact, the Gaza ‘special measures’ visa program has so far proved to be little more than a cruel taunt.”

Interestingly, according to CBC News in January, 616 Gazans had arrived in Canada through the temporary visa program. It is perplexing why the authors didn’t mention that, instead stating, “Belgium evacuated hundreds of sick Palestinian children – twice. The U.S., Spain, Italy, Australia all found ways to act.”

But US Senator Tim Kaine stated that the US had taken just 72 refugees from Gaza from 2023-24. As for Brussels, it is hard to find a source for the authors’ claim of “hundreds.” The Brussels Times reported that 10 sick children and their carers have been brought for treatment, as well as 24 Belgian nationals. In comparison, Canada seems to have done more. Yet the authors didn’t mention it.

Exploring the security issues presented by Gazans entering Canada might have shed light on the relatively low refugee figures. Hamas – a proscribed terrorist group in Canada – has been the ruling party in Gaza since 2007. They led the October 7, 2023 atrocities against Israel, and their massacres remain widely popular in Gaza.

Video footage showed so-called ‘civilians’ from Gaza joining in the massacre, hostages held by Gazan civilians, and MEMRI reported Gazans celebrating the October 7th massacre.

The education system in Gaza advocates extremism, as the Times of Israel reports, mentioning a new report by an Israeli- and UK-based watchdog that found educational “books also include antisemitic rhetoric, promote jihad and martyrdom, and have materials that dehumanize Israeli.”

As Sergio Karas, Canadian immigration lawyer, put it in True North, “We have to ensure not only that (refugees) are not outright terrorists, but also that they are not connected to any type of militant group because that can spell another trouble for Canada”.

The authors continue, “as they await word from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), many Palestinians are being killed every day by Israeli air strikes and gunfire as they attempt to receive flour and fava beans.”

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has to date provided over 66 million meals directly to Gazans. Before the GHF operations, Hamas looted the aid to Gaza and sold it at a considerable profit. Hamas has been threatening and shooting at Gazans who go to the GHF to get their free food. Indeed, MEMRI referenced a Palestinian newspaper article that said “‘death squads’ from Hamas’s Al-Sahm unithunt down Gazans coming to the distribution centers, shoot at them, and kill them.” Yet the authors of the article didn’t even mention Hamas. Israel said they do not target civilians, and the GHF said the claims are false.

The authors also wrote that “no person should be displaced against their will, and the calls coming from both Jerusalem and Washington to rid all of Gaza of Palestinians are patently illegal.” The authors grossly misrepresented Israel’s statements, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu having stated explicitly that “it’s called the freedom of choice, and nothing more than that. No coercion, no forcible dislocation.”

Deborah Cowen, Naomi Klein, Kyo Maclear, and Madeleine Thien are entitled to their own views, but not their own facts.