SAMIDOUN, the anti-Israel advocacy group based in Vancouver, recently added to Canada’s terror list, is threatening to sue Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre for “recklessly and maliciously” accusing Samidoun of being a terrorist entity. The letter also threatens to sue Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s public safety minister, and demands a retraction and apology from each of the three politicians.

National Post (h/t Marvin W)  The Samidoun letter says that between the three politicians, their “defamatory publications to date have been viewed many thousands of times.” It says the three “recklessly and maliciously” stated that Samidoun is a terror group; that it is engaged in terrorist activities; that it is a front group for terror organizations; that it has ties to terror groups; that it is extremist and violent; and is involved in terrorist financing.

The letter says that the statements from Poilievre, Trudeau and LeBlanc claim Samidoun incites hatred and violence, is engaging in violence and intimidation and is a danger to the Jewish population and broader Canadian public. “It is also our considered opinion that the above statements easily meet the test of defamatory statements as contemplated by the Libel and Slander Act of Ontario and damages have been occasioned as a result,” the letter says.

The letter, sent by Toronto lawyer Stephen Ellis, is a cease-and-desist notice to Trudeau, Poilievre and LeBlanc, warning them that they may face a libel lawsuit if they continue to call Samidoun a terrorist group. Ellis, a co-founder of the Legal Centre for Palestine, also represented former Ontario NDP MPPSarah Jama, who threatened libel action against Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said Jama has a “long and well-documented history of antisemitism.”

“The government cannot legislate away our right to free speech. If they contend we are terrorists, let them prove it in court,” said Charlotte Kates, one of Samidoun’s founding members, in a statement.

Kates herself has been under a Vancouver police hate-speech investigation for months, although charges have not yet been laid, following a speech in which she praised the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

“The mask has been ripped off, and now they are trying to desperately put the genie back in the bottle,” said Michael Westcott, the CEO of Allies for a Strong Canada, a group founded to stand against rising antisemitism in Canada. “They are reaping what they have sown. And if they don’t like that, perhaps they should have considered that before calling for the destruction of not only our allies, but of Canada as well.”

Last Tuesday, the Canadian government added Samidoun to its list of terrorist entities, where it joins groups such as the Proud Boys, the Islamic State, Hamas and al-Qaeda. The United States also announced that it was designating Samidoun a terrorist entity and Khaled Barakat, who is married to Kates, has been designated a terrorist by the United States’ government and identified as a member of the leadership of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

In a statement posted to X, Trudeau called Samidoun “a front organization that acts in association with terrorist groups like the PFLP” (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) and notes that it “is now a listed terrorist entity in Canada and the United States.”

Wake up Canada https://t.co/b9MbwQm1IX

— Liza Rosen (@LizaRosen0000) October 15, 2024

Poilievre, who had called on the Liberals to designate Samidoun a terror entity prior to the actual designation, wrote on X on Oct. 8 that Samidoun had “clear and direct ties to designated terror groups abroad.” In a separate post to Instagram calling on the federal government to “Ban Samidoun,” Poilievre claimed Trudeau and the federal NDP “have allowed terrorist organizations to operate freely across Canada.” In the cease-and-desist notice, Ellis lists these and other allegedly libellous statements Poilievre made about the group.

Sebastian Skamski, a spokesperson for Poilievre, wrote in an email that “they are a banned terrorist group, under Canadian law. Mr. Poilievre will make no apologies for calling out terrorists who chant ‘death to Canada’ and burn our flag.”

Gabriel Brunet, a spokesperson for LeBlanc, responded with an emailed statement that did not address the cease-and-desist letter, but rather said Samidoun has previously been banned in Germany and that it has links with the PFLP. “On the advice of our national security and intelligence agencies, the government has listed Samidoun a terrorist entity,” Brunet wrote.