Fredericton MP Jenica Atwin has shown curious priorities in her political career. First elected as a Green in 2019, she bolted to the Liberals in 2021, admitting that conflict within the Greens over its Middle Eastern policies was part of her motivation.
Atwin’s making headlines again and Israel and Gaza are still on her mind. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, she has sponsored petitions calling for the Canada Pension Plan to pull all investments from Israel and requesting a limit on background checks of Palestinians applying to leave Gaza to come to Canada.
“We the undersigned … call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to demand CPPIB (Canada Pension Plan Investment Board) divest from Israel and complicit companies to ensure compliance with the Rome Statute, the Canadian Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act,” one petition says in part.
Another calls on the government to “remove the arbitrary limit of 5,000 permits,” and to reduce the amount of personal detail required for displaced Palestinians applying to come here. A third petition calls for the history of the “nakba” — a day of mourning observed by Palestinians to commemorate their displacement when the state of Israel was established in 1948.
Parliamentary petitions are, by and large, a performative art. They play to the gallery, but rarely have any effect. That’s a good thing, because the last thing we need is for MPs to meddle and play politics with our pensions. Pension law requires the board make investments in the best interests of its participants, not according to political whim.
As for background checks for refugees from Gaza, recent events in Toronto indicate we need more vetting, not less. A father and son were recently arrested north of the city on charges related to what police allege was an ISIS-inspired terror attack. The allegations also include a charge related to an incident in 2015, in which the father is alleged to have dismembered a body with a sword. So thanks, but no. We’ll stick with the current level of permits and demand more, not fewer, background checks.
As for education, Atwin can teach her kids what she wants. We’ll settle for schools teaching Canadian history in a way that accurately informs young people about the rich history of their own country.