Poilievre Urges Ottawa to Designate Pro-Palestine Group Samidoun as Terrorist Organization
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is urging the federal government to designate the pro-Palestine group Samidoun as a terrorist organization and prohibit its activities in Canada.
During an Oct. 8 press conference, Poilievre mentioned that Samidoun presents itself as a solidarity network for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails but is essentially a front for the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), which was classified as a terrorist entity in 2003.
Poilievre highlighted that members of Samidoun gathered at the Vancouver Art Gallery the previous day to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel, chanting provocative slogans against Canada, the United States, and Israel.
“This is a terrorist organization,” Poilievre asserted during the press conference in Ottawa, urging the government to outlaw Samidoun under Section 83.03 of the Criminal Code.
Referring to statements from the Israeli government, Poilievre stated that Samidoun’s leader, Khaled Barakat, is considered a high-ranking member of the PFLP, and the German government already banned Samidoun in 2023.
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According to Poilievre, Samidoun’s director Charlotte Kates expressed support for Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 as “brave and heroic.” Kates was arrested in Vancouver in May 2024 in connection with a hate crime investigation and was barred from attending protests for five months.
On the same day, Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad also called for Samidoun to be labeled as a terrorist organization, denouncing the chants from Samidoun members at the Vancouver protest as encouraging violence and terrorism.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has joined the call to add Samidoun to the list of terrorist entities.
Samidoun did not provide a response to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
Poilievre urged Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to condemn the “genocidal chants from hateful mobs” during the question period on Oct. 7. In response, Joly reaffirmed Canada’s support for Israel and its commitment to assisting in the return of remaining hostages.
Poilievre persisted, accusing Joly of siding with Hamas supporters in the Liberal Party.
Joly subsequently criticized Poilievre for politicizing the issue and demanded an apology.
The following day, Poilievre insisted that Joly should condemn anti-Semitic rhetoric and issue an apology herself.
During the Oct. 8 House of Commons session, House Speaker Greg Fergus prevented Poilievre from speaking for his refusal to apologize for his remarks towards Joly.
When questioned by a reporter at his press conference, Poilievre defended his previous remarks suggesting Israel’s right to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to Iranian missile attacks, arguing against allowing Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
According to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Iran is believed to possess an advanced nuclear program but not nuclear weapons. U.S. President Joe Biden has voiced opposition to Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
