Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak has issued a stern warning to the University of Toronto regarding the ongoing encampment of protesters demanding the university divest from financial and academic ties with the State of Israel. Pasternak asserts that complying with these demands would likely violate the Ontario Discriminatory Business Practices Act.
“Demanding the University of Toronto to abolish their financial and academic ties to businesses that conduct trade and commerce with Israel is shameful and anti-Semitic,” Councillor Pasternak declared. “Blacklisting businesses based on the faith of the owner or the ethnic nationalities of whom they trade with is illegal. I am calling on the University of Toronto to take the Discriminatory Business Practices Act into consideration and to not succumb to the pressure of hateful protests.”
The Ontario Discriminatory Business Practices Act aims to prevent discrimination based on race, creed, color, nationality, ancestry, place of origin, sex, or geographical location of persons employed or engaged in business. The act explicitly prohibits such discriminatory practices within Ontario.
For over three weeks, protesters have been encamped on U of T property, calling for a boycott of Jewish and Israeli businesses and others that trade with Israel. Councillor Pasternak condemned the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, describing it as a “hateful ideology” that disproportionately targets Israel while ignoring human rights violations in other countries.
Since October 7, 2023, there has been an alarming increase in harassment and targeting of Jewish and Israeli-owned businesses in Ontario by angry mobs. These actions have included the shouting of hateful messages and calls for boycotts.
“I am calling on the University of Toronto to refuse these demands. Aside from the potential of violating the Discriminatory Business Practices Act, agreeing to divest from Israel would also have a negative impact on the integrity of this post-secondary institution,” Pasternak added.