Short Solo

Ben Carr is my Liberal Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre, elected in a 2023 by-election following the death of his father, longtime MP Jim Carr.

If it weren’t for Palestine, I would likely align with Ben on many issues—or at least accept our disagreements as part of democratic life.

But Palestine is not a peripheral issue. Ben’s support for Zionism places him on the side of an ideology that enshrines ethnic supremacy in law. Under the banner of a “right to a Jewish state,” non-Jewish Palestinians—Muslim and Christian families with centuries-long ties to the land—are subjected to legal inequality (apartheid), indefinite incarceration without charge, land theft, state violence, starvation and death.

This is not a policy disagreement I can set aside. It is a moral line.

The federal government is responsible for Canada’s foreign affairs. This has placed Carr at the crossroads. Would he stand up for Canadian values of peace and rule of law? Would he continue to support Israel at all costs?

He has chosen Israel time and again. Most notably being one of only three Liberal MPs who voted against a ceasefire in Gaza.

More recently Ben Carr has publicly supported so-called “bubble” or buffer-zone legislation, backing measures that restrict protests and demonstrations within designated distances of schools, religious institutions, and community spaces.

Under such legislation, Canadian Charter rights would be curtailed in deeply troubling ways.

Indigenous peoples could be barred from protesting at Catholic churches over the legacy of residential schools.

Canadians could be prevented from demonstrating opposition to a Jewish community centre hosting individuals accused of war crimes, or a synagogue holding an auction of land recently taken from Palestinians.

In practice, the legislation risks shielding individuals and institutions from accountability by restricting peaceful protest precisely where it is most meaningful.

I made a series of videos earlier this year called, The Palestine Minutes. This is a video comparing Carr’s simultaneous policy positions on horses and Palestinians.