Juno News - September 22, 2025


McGill professor loses oversight role over Hamas comments


Episode Stats


Length

13 minutes

Words per minute

163.16176

Word count

2,219

Sentence count

98

Harmful content

Misogyny

2

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

The Feds have banned an Irish group from entering Canada over the group s endorsement of political violence and terrorism. A Quebec University professor has been removed from the school s student discipline committee after publicly calling for full economic and military support to terrorist organizations.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 The Feds have banned an Irish group from entering Canada over the group's endorsement of political violence and terrorism.
00:00:11.000 A Quebec University professor has been removed from the School Student Discipline Committee after publicly calling for full economic and military support to terrorist organizations, though he still has a job as a professor.
00:00:24.000 Lesbian, gay, and bisexual activists have broken away from the LGBT plus movement and have made a new international organization which they say will return the movement to its original mission and away from gender identity ideology.
00:00:37.000 Hello Canada, it's Monday, September 22nd, and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux.
00:00:42.000 And I'm Willie Tam Tam.
00:00:44.000 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.
00:00:54.000 The federal government has barred the Irish rap group NECAP from entering Canada, citing what it calls dangerous endorsements of political violence and terrorist groups.
00:01:03.000 Liberal MP and Parliamentary Secretary for Combating Crime, Vince Gasparro, said in a video statement posted to Exxon Friday, quote,
00:01:11.000 Recently, the rap group NECAP has engaged in actions and made statements that are contrary to Canadian values and laws and have caused deep alarm to our government.
00:01:21.000 The group have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.
00:01:28.000 These are not expressions of art or legitimate political critique. They are dangerous endorsements of violence and hate.
00:01:35.000 Notably, one member of the band is currently facing terrorism related charges in the United Kingdom.
00:01:42.000 Gasparro said one member of the group is facing terrorism related charges in the United Kingdom after allegedly raising the flag of a terrorist group officially designated by Canada, Hezbollah, at an event in November 2024.
00:01:54.000 Gasparro argues that charter rights of free expression are upheld but, quote, advocating for political violence, glorifying terrorist organizations and displaying hate symbols that directly target the Jewish community are not protected forms of expression and will not be tolerated by our government.
00:02:10.000 He added that, effective immediately, the members of NECAP, quote, have been deemed ineligible to enter Canada and that Canada stands firmly against hate speech, incitement to violence and the glorification of terrorism.
00:02:22.000 Political debate and free speech are vital to our democracy, but open endorsements of terrorist groups are not free speech.
00:02:29.000 Our government remains steadfast in protecting all Canadians, and in this instance Jewish Canadians, from anti-Semitism and hate more broadly.
00:02:39.000 Let me be clear.
00:02:40.000 Canada is never to be used as a platform for extremism or political violence, and we will not tolerate international conflicts being used as an excuse to intimidate and harass Canadians here at home.
00:02:53.000 So, Waleed, the Toronto riding where Gasparro is from has an over 20% Jewish population.
00:02:59.000 During the election, he debated a Conservative candidate about how the Liberals would fight anti-Semitism in that riding.
00:03:05.000 And is this a new direction for the Liberals, or is this just the first time they are taking action in this way against those who openly promote terrorism?
00:03:15.000 Look, Isaac, when I think it comes to the Israel-Palestine issue, the issue of anti-Semitism, the protests, I frankly think Liberals, and I'm quoting Melissa Lansman from my interview with her last week, but are indeed seeming to speak out of both sides of their mouth.
00:03:31.000 I mean, in their caucus, there are strong disagreements between members like Anthony Housefather, who's from a heavily Jewish writing, and himself who's Jewish.
00:03:39.000 Then you have someone I spoke to last week as well, Salma Zahid from, I believe she's from Scarborough, GTA area, who is Muslim of background, Pakistani, and whose many constituents share that same background, and who is very passionate about the Palestinian angle.
00:03:54.000 So, frankly, Liberal MPs and the neoliberal caucus are divided on the issue. The Liberal Party seems to have kind of a fractured base when it comes to the issue as well.
00:04:04.000 So, whether it's this particular MP supporting or encouraging, rather, the ban of NICAP, an Irish group that has, of course, due cause to be dealt with in that sense, I don't think this is the neoliberal policy.
00:04:19.000 I don't think this is the consistent direction, because there is no consistent direction. One week, they could be talking about recognizing the state of Palestine.
00:04:26.000 The following week, they could be talking about some measures to counter on the other side, domestically or internationally speaking.
00:04:33.000 It seems like, again, there is no coherent, consistent policy of the matter. It simply is within different jurisdictions, local, international, domestic policy.
00:04:42.000 They're finding different ways to appease both Jewish voters and Muslim and Arab voters.
00:04:48.000 And it seems like the party is, for now, doing a wildly inconsistent job of that.
00:04:55.000 A McGill University professor has been removed from the school's Student Discipline Committee after publicly calling for full economic support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
00:05:07.000 Despite being removed from his role at the school's Discipline Committee, he remains a professor at the post-secondary school.
00:05:14.000 William Clare Roberts, an associate professor of political science at McGill, wrote on August 23rd, quote,
00:05:20.000 I used to think BDS, which is the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement, was a good idea.
00:05:25.000 I've come around, though. Nothing short of full economic and military support for Hamas and Hezbollah is appropriate, end quote. 1.00
00:05:32.000 Two days later, the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs outlined concerns around Roberts' posts.
00:05:37.000 The Jewish advocacy group said that the glorifying and the calling for funding to officially recognize terrorist groups raised their concern.
00:05:45.000 The group said, quote,
00:05:46.000 At a time when antisemitism is reaching new heights, it is McGill's duty to ensure that its professors do not amplify hatred of Jews, attack our common values, or encourage terrorist groups under Canadian law.
00:05:56.000 The organization and its French counterpart sent a letter to the university's president.
00:06:00.000 Sija said, quote,
00:06:01.000 The university must announce its professors' remarks if they are proven to be true. Exemplary disciplinary measures must be taken.
00:06:08.000 And accountability must be ensured to prevent such potential support for terrorist groups from it, it would seem, obtaining a position on a disciplinary committee.
00:06:15.000 So, Isaac, my question to you is this, on the same issue, frankly.
00:06:19.000 What's the university, what was the university, so what was the university's response to this professor?
00:06:24.000 And have we seen universities in Canada taking action against pro-terrorist professors or speakers before?
00:06:29.000 Yeah, Walid.
00:06:30.000 So, McGill's Senate voted unanimously to remove William Clare Roberts from the Committee on Student Discipline.
00:06:36.000 And according to Roberts, in one of his posts to X, he said the Senate said that he was biased, he couldn't tell right from wrong, and that he was anti-Jewish.
00:06:44.000 Of course, as you said, though, he retains his job as a professor for now.
00:06:47.000 The decision was celebrated by Jewish organizations like the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs and their French arm, which argued that publicly advocating support for Hamas and Hezbollah, groups listed as terrorist entities in Canada, crossed a clear line into incitement and created a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
00:07:04.000 But calls for accountability in academia are not new.
00:07:07.000 In January, the University of Toronto cancelled an event featuring Shadi Sharafa, a convicted member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine after Jewish groups intervened.
00:07:17.000 McGill itself faced criticism last year when it allowed a pro-Hamas activist to speak on campus at an event called Night of Resistance.
00:07:24.000 Carleton University also drew outrage for reappointing Hassan Diab, who was convicted in France for the 1980 Paris Synagogue bombing, to teach courses despite an active international warrant.
00:07:36.000 Other institutions have acted a bit more decisively.
00:07:39.000 The University of Alberta fired the director of its sexual assault center after she signed a letter denying Hamas committed rapes during the October 7th attack.
00:07:48.000 The University of Waterloo issued a trespass notice to dismantle an anti-Israel encampment, calling protesters' behavior untenable.
00:07:55.000 And Edmonton police cleared a similar encampment at the University of Alberta after finding potential weapons and science calling for Israel's destruction.
00:08:03.000 Reports over the past year have documented that anti-Semitism and open support for Hamas have become common at Canadian campus encampments,
00:08:11.000 with chants glorifying violence, Hamas logos projected onto buildings, and Jewish students facing harassment.
00:08:17.000 Advocacy groups warn that such environments are making campuses unsafe and pressuring administrations to act.
00:08:23.000 But taken together, these incidents show that McGill's handling of Roberts is part of a broader trend,
00:08:28.000 that being Canadian universities have faced repeated controversies over professors, speakers, and student groups
00:08:34.000 that cross the line from political expression into openly supporting listed terrorist organizations.
00:08:40.000 And their responses have ranged from cancellation of events to dismissals to formal disciplinary votes.
00:08:45.000 Also, while the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs celebrated Roberts' removal,
00:08:49.000 they called for further action to be taken by administration to, quote,
00:08:53.000 ensure that he is held accountable for his actions.
00:08:56.000 Lesbian, gay, and bisexual organizations from around the world have broken away from the broader trans-dominated LGBT plus movement.
00:09:07.000 On Saturday, they announced the creation of the LGB International, a new group dedicated to protecting same-sex rights.
00:09:16.000 The organizers say mainstream LGBTQ groups have abandoned their original mission.
00:09:21.000 Instead of focusing on issues like criminalization of homosexuality in 64 countries,
00:09:26.000 lack of recognition for same-sex partnerships, and discrimination against gays and lesbians,
00:09:31.000 they argue that major organizations now rally around gender identity politics. 0.96
00:09:36.000 Frederick Schminck, chair of LGB International, said groups that once represented gays and lesbians are now, quote,
00:09:42.000 entirely devoted to gender identity ideology.
00:09:46.000 He warned that same-sex rights are being lost while, quote,
00:09:49.000 traditional LGBTQ plus organizations have barricaded themselves up against all reason.
00:09:55.000 LGB International brings together member organizations in 18 countries from Taiwan to Australia,
00:10:01.000 Bulgaria to the United States.
00:10:03.000 The movement follows in the footsteps of the UK's LGB Alliance, founded in 2019.
00:10:08.000 In Canada, LGB Alliance Canada has relaunched as part of this new international effort.
00:10:13.000 It accuses groups like EGAL Canada of using political influence on large budgets to promote gender identity activism
00:10:20.000 instead of defending same-sex rights.
00:10:22.000 EGAL Canada did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.
00:10:26.000 Canadian representatives of the Alliance say groups pushing, quote,
00:10:29.000 gender-affirming care are targeting young people who may simply be same-sex attracted.
00:10:34.000 They argue that redefining, quote,
00:10:36.000 man and woman undermines sex-based protections and fosters hostility towards gays and lesbians who want their own spaces.
00:10:43.000 So, Walid, is this the first time LGBT groups and Pride organizations have been accused of losing their original mandate?
00:10:49.000 Isaac, absolutely not.
00:10:51.000 And somehow, in this Daily Brief episode, we have not been able to escape the themes in the Middle East a single time out of these three stories.
00:10:58.000 So, taking back to this summer, over the course of Pride Toronto, we had a number of different sponsors leave and pull out of Pride parades,
00:11:07.000 especially in Toronto where Olivia Chao had to step in with millions of taxpayer dollars to fill the gap of funding. 1.00
00:11:13.000 But I actually remember more of a story in Montreal where an LGBTQ Jewish group were uninvited for being part of the Pride protest,
00:11:23.000 or Pride march rather, because of their views on the Middle East.
00:11:27.000 So, clearly, there has been this trend of Pride becoming, let's just say, far more political and far less about the bread and butter issues that concern that community.
00:11:37.000 Of course, what we're talking about here in this story is a fracture between the LGB and the TQ, everything else beyond.
00:11:44.000 So, I think there's definitely a very interesting dynamic there.
00:11:48.000 What I'm seeing with LGB international is that people are much more zeroed in in the traditional sense of freedom for relationships,
00:11:56.000 to people of different orientations, but not using that to pervert the general understood social standard of gender between men and women,
00:12:06.000 linking that to biological sex.
00:12:08.000 And, of course, that is probably an example as well of how the gay rights movement has been perhaps hijacked to go further into other realms beyond what originally many gays were fighting for,
00:12:20.000 in terms of having right to marriage, right to different situations in gay relationships to be recognized around the world.
00:12:28.000 But, definitely, Pride has not only gone deeper down the woke sphere, but has also managed to encompass itself around political issues like the wars in the Middle East,
00:12:41.000 like economic issues, and a wide range of social issues as well.
00:12:46.000 So, absolutely, Pride or the LGBTQ movement, which goes hand in hand with these Pride movements, are oftentimes far beyond the original mandates of standing up for their own rights or their own concerns.
00:12:59.000 They are now attaching themselves onto other, generally speaking, left-leaning solidarity movements.
00:13:06.000 And this is kind of part of the left coalition-building mechanism to try to expand its audience and expand its following,
00:13:14.000 perhaps also some fundraising initiative as well.
00:13:17.000 But, definitely, it's comical at this point, for sure.
00:13:21.000 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in.
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