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Dear Friends,

It has been an incredibly consequential week as our government takes bold action to protect our communities, modernize our national defense, and lead the global race in innovation. Whether we are confronting the rise of hate at home or securing our economic future through technology, my focus remains on building a Canada that is safe, prosperous, and fair for everyone. I have been busy in the riding and in Ottawa, and this week has been busy at both the Justice Committee and Public Safety and National Security Committee, where we have started clause by clause review on the lawful access bill.

Providing Immediate Affordability Relief

We remain relentlessly focused on your pocketbook. Starting June 5, 2026, more than 12 million low- and modest-income Canadians will receive a one-time GST/HST credit top-up payment. This payment provides a 50% increase to your total annual amount to help manage day-to-day costs during the transition to the new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), which officially replaces the GST/HST credit in July 2026.

Additionally, the Spring Economic Update 2026 is making it easier for tens of thousands of Canadians to access the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). We are streamlining applications for those with formal diagnoses of long-lasting conditions and expanding the list of medical practitioners who can certify eligibility, providing $345 million in tax relief over the next six years.

Confronting the Crisis of Antisemitism

This week, I joined the Prime Minister, members of our Jewish Caucus, and community leaders at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, where the Prime Minister delivered a national address on the crisis of antisemitism in Canada. I was one of many who had asked the Prime Minister to speak on this issue and deliver a clear message to Canadians that there was a crisis of antisemitism around the world, including here in Canada where over two-thirds of all religion-motivated hate crimes targeted Jewish Canadians, who make up only 1.2% of our population.

I would encourage everyone to watch the Prime Minister’s full speech here:

I would also encourage everyone to read this op-ed by Dan Moskovitz, Senior Rabbi at Temple Sholom in Vancouver, BC. providing his take on the Prime Minister’s speech:

The Prime Minister’s main message was to non-Jewish Canadians to alert them to the unacceptable nature of the hate that has been seen in our streets, on campuses and in workplaces across the country.  Government can pass laws criminalizing behaviour but only ordinary Canadians can fight the core root of antisemitism. Each and every person must speak out when their friend, family member or acquaintance makes anti-Jewish comments or takes anti-Jewish actions at home or in the street or in the workplace.

As I told the media this week, confronting antisemitism is the responsibility of every Canadian- to speak out against hate and stand with their Jewish neighbors.

Please watch my additional comments to the media here:

But there is only so much that can be said in one speech. I provided advice as to what I thought the Prime Minister should say, but ofcourse not all the points I proposed were included in this one speech. So, I wanted to add the following:

• It is obvious that a significant part of the increased antisemitism in this country is driven by antizionism.  For most of the Jewish community the State of Israel plays a central role in our Canadian Jewish identity.  Every year at Passover we end the seders by saying “Next year in Jerusalem” for example.  Not only should no community in Canada be blamed for the actions of a foreign state but no Jewish Canadian should ever be treated differently from any other Canadian in any public spaces because of their attachment to Israel and belief in Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
• The responsibility for taking federal actions against antisemitism is and will remain with the government and elected officials, not appointed members of an advisory committee. This government has taken action. We have invested $145 million in community security, but most importantly have done so by incorporating the main recommendations of the House of Commons Justice Committee antisemitism report into the Combatting Hate Act. I had been pushing for that bill to happen since the spring of 2024.  This bill was supported and requested by all of our major mainstream Jewish community organizations. The Liberal Government then used considerable political capital to overcome Conservative opposition and filibusters to get it through the House. This week the bill has gone through the Senate and will be sent back to the House with the Senate’s amendment.  So, when people claim the Combatting Hate Act has not achieved anything, they are playing a game as the bill is not law yet.  But when it is law, the federal government will lead on the next step. The most important step. 
  Over the last two years I have frequently criticized municipal police for not applying hate laws and other criminal laws and criticized provincial prosecutors for not pursuing prosecutions of individuals in a serious manner.  The police have told us the Combatting Hate Act will give them the tools to make it easier for them to act. I have had discussions with our Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree and Justice Minister Sean Fraser about the necessity of following up the royal assent of the Combatting Hate Act with a federal/ provincial/ territorial discussion of the relevant Ministers of public safety and justice to agree upon training for police, prosecutors and judges on the new hate laws and to agree on clear direction to police that we want the law enforced.  Please see my exchange with Minister Anandasanagaree at the Public Safety and National Security Committee where he confirmed what we would do:     

This is the most important step the government can now take.

•  In February the government announced a Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion to foster social cohesion, combat racism, and counter hate. The mandate of this inclusivity committee focuses on guiding federal anti-hate plans alongside ongoing components of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy.  Because the Prime Minister referenced this Council during the speech on antisemitism where he said antisemitism was currently the top priority and urgently assigned four tasks on antisemitism to the Council, there are people who believed this was a council to deal only with anti-Jewish hate. But it is not. It will be advising the Minister on all types of hate which is why the announced membership included one person from different vulnerable communities.  I would note the Minister has stated the membership of this council is evolving and not complete.

  I have been speaking to Minister Marc Miller about the confusion, and I will work with him to make sure that the Minister and former Senator Marc Gold are properly supported by members of the community who have deep experience in dealing with antisemitism.  I hope the Minister will be able to provide more clarity and comfort on how the antisemitism mandate will be executed in the very near future.     

AI for All: Leading the Global Innovation Race

Canada helped invent modern AI, and our new national strategy, “AI for All,” ensures that Canadians capture the value of these breakthroughs. This strategy is projected to support 250,000 new jobs across the economy and contribute up to $200 billion in GDP gains by 2031. Our goal is to increase business AI adoption from 12% to over 60%, positioning Canada in the global top 10. We are building a safe, accountable AI framework that benefits every Canadian while reinforcing our national sovereignty.

To support this innovation, we are also delivering on our Talent Attraction Strategy. We have offered 659 awards to researchers from 72 countries under the first phase of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards. This is part of a broader $1.7 billion initiative to attract over 1,000 world-leading scientists to Canadian institutions, ensuring we remain the strongest economy in the G7.

Securing Our Skies: GlobalEye and National Defence

At the CANSEC trade show, the Prime Minister announced that Canada has entered negotiations to procure the GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft platform. This initiative will support approximately 3,000 jobs in our aerospace and defense sector. Crucially, the platform is based on the Canadian-made Bombardier Global 6500, and we have ensured that no less than one-third of the fleet will be manufactured in Canada over the next 15 years. This is a major step in our Defence Industrial Strategy, which aims to modernize procurement and prioritize Canadian suppliers.

Wildfire Readiness: Boosting National Response

As we enter wildfire season, we are strengthening our capacity to keep communities safe. We are investing $316.7 million to establish a new federal aerial firefighting surge capacity. This week, we announced that 10 new aerial firefighting aircraft- including four air tankers and five heavy-lift helicopters- will be available through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) starting this season. These assets, leased from Canadian companies, will be prepositioned across the country to support provinces and territories during peak demand.

Please watch the announcement here:

Celebrating Our Community and Heritage

June is a vibrant month of celebration and reflection in Mount Royal:

• National Indigenous History Month: A time to honor the stories and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people.
• Pride Season: We stand with the 2SLGBTQI+ community, celebrating diversity and resilience while fighting for equity and inclusion.
• Cultural Heritage: We celebrate Italian Heritage Month (marking the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic), Filipino Heritage Month, and Portuguese Heritage Month. It was a personal pleasure to attend the Ladies of the Knights of Rizal (LKOR) induction ceremony last week to celebrate the service and culture of our Filipino community.

In local arts, I was thrilled to attend the Côte Saint Luc Dramatic Society’s wonderful production of The Sound of Music. I highly encourage everyone to reserve tickets for this fantastic show.

Finally, a reminder that nominations for Canada’s Volunteer Awards are now open until June 17, 2026. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize the volunteers, non-profits, and businesses that strengthen our neighborhoods.

Best

Anthony