Trudeau promises to review funding for anti-racism group after 'unacceptable' tweets

Prime minister says no hateful organizations or individuals should ever receive Ottawa's support

Image | Ont-Trudeau 20220830

Caption: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a news conference in Kitchener, Ont. on Aug. 30, 2022. (Peter Power/The Canadian Press)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government is conducting a "complete review" of funding for an anti-racism group whose senior consultant sent a series of tweets about "Jewish white supremacists."
Trudeau says the government is putting in place procedures to make sure that no hateful organization or individual receives public money in the future.
"It is absolutely unacceptable that federal dollars have gone to this organization that has demonstrated xenophobia, racism and antisemitism," Trudeau told a news conference in Kitchener, Ont.
"We are ensuring that there are better processes in place to make sure that no other organization or hateful individuals slip through the cracks."
Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen cut $133,000 in government funding to the Community Media Advocacy Centre last week and suspended an anti-racism project it was overseeing after what Hussen called "reprehensible and vile" tweets posted by its senior consultant, Laith Marouf, came to light.
Trudeau's comments come as other past funding for the organization is being scrutinized.
Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller said he wants to see a clawback of grant money that his constituency office recommended providing to the group as part of the Canada Summer Jobs program in 2018.
The CMAC did not immediately respond to a renewed request for comment.
A lawyer representing Marouf has drawn a distinction between his client's tweets about people he calls "Jewish white supremacists" and Jews in general, saying Marouf harbours no animus toward the Jewish faith as a collective group.