I move that this House expresses its disapproval of, and dissociates itself from, continued disreputable conduct by the member for Hamilton Centre, most specifically her use of social media to make anti-Semitic and discriminatory statements related to the existence of the State of Israel and its defence against Hamas terrorists; and

That this House demands the member desist from further conduct that is inappropriate and unbecoming of a member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario; and

That the Speaker is authorized to not recognize the member for Hamilton Centre in the House until the member retracts and deletes her statements on social media and makes an apology in her place in the House.

Fundamental to our system of government is the ability of a Parliament to maintain institutional respect and dignity so it can fulfill its constitutional duty. This is why, since the foundation of our Westminster system of Parliament, the two most significant rights which Parliaments have maintained are the collective rights to discipline and to regulate their internal affairs.

It is expected that members will hold varied and sometimes unpopular opinions. They may even compromise their own personal dignity at times, but what cannot be compromised is the respect for the institution itself. This is why over the course of history, when faced with conduct so unbecoming that it reflects upon the entire institution, Parliaments have sparingly but swiftly exercised their disciplinary powers to protect the institution from actions of any individual, whether a member of the public or a member of that Parliament. This is why I have put forward the motion of censure before us today.

It is my contention that the member for Hamilton Centre, by way of things she has done and left intentionally undone, has placed this House and its members in such disrepute that as a Parliament we have no choice but to act to defend the dignity of this institution on behalf of our constituents.

We know that in the early morning hours of October 7, unprovoked and by surprise, the terrorist organization Hamas launched a massive rocket barrage and manned incursion into the State of Israel from within the Gaza Strip. We know that the horrific attack has taken the lives of more than 1,400 innocent Israeli citizens and wounded thousands more. Further, Hamas continues to hold more than 200 hostages, who they forcibly abducted and secreted back into Gaza.

Only three days later, on October 10, the member for Hamilton Centre took to social media and posted an image of a statement on her MPP letterhead, bearing her name, her title and the Ontario coat of arms. Rather than condemning the terrorists’ atrocities, as most of the Western world had already done, the member chose to justify the Hamas attacks on the basis of an anti-Semitic allegation that the mere existence of the State of Israel is a racist endeavour.

I will paraphrase elements of the member’s statement because, obviously, quoting it at great length will only further proliferate the member’s hateful rhetoric. The member states outright that the existence of Israel is a generations-long occupation of Palestine, that Israel is an apartheid regime and that for its entire short history, it has furthered only violence through what she calls “settler colonialism.” Further, the member ties her anti-Semitic ideological conjecture directly to the present war.

At no point in her offensive tirade does the member acknowledge that the present conflict exists only because of an unprovoked terrorist attack aimed at Israeli citizens, civilians, and carried out by a militant terrorist group with a core mandate to annihilate the Jewish homeland. The member’s musings at any other time would still have been offensive and unacceptable for any elected representative of the people of Ontario, but to make them in association of a violent act of unrepentant and unprovoked terrorism is repugnant and intolerable to the greatest extent of those words.

On October 7, more innocent Jewish men, women, children and infants were killed—Mr. Speaker, this is, I think, an important part. On October 7, on the day of the terrorist attack, more women, children and infants were killed than at any other day since the Holocaust. It was not enough for the member for Hamilton Centre that their families and friends would never see their loved ones again. She felt justified in spreading her belief that the victims and their surviving friends and families were in fact somehow responsible for their own tragic fate. Inexplicably, the member’s statements, whether intentional or impetuous, blame the mere existence of the State of Israel for the thousands of rockets launched at civilians and the invasion of thousands of militants who killed, raped and kidnapped with no regard for the dignity of human life.

The context, as well as the content, is unbelievably offensive, which is why I have seized the House with consideration of this rare motion of censure. The member’s own leader recognized the blatant inappropriateness the very same day the statement was posted and quickly called upon the member to apologize and retract it. For unknown reasons, the member took more than 24 hours to post a half-hearted apology, buried in the comment section of her own post. Additionally, her so-called apology ultimately reaffirmed her position against Israel’s right to self-defence. At present, the member has still not deleted the original statement, which has now been seen more than 3.1 million times. The NDP leader has inexplicably changed her position on the appropriateness of the member’s offensive remarks, and now actively defends her in the face of pressure for real action from the press and the public.

In early 2022, when the past member for Lanark–Frontenac–Kingston made derogatory and racist remarks about a federal cabinet minister and used social media to post messages inciting violence, this House swiftly came together to unanimously censure him in much the same words as the motion before us today. At the time, the House ordered apologies be made by the member. It asked the Speaker to assess the sincerity of such apologies and ordered the member to desist from further conduct unbecoming of an MPP.

No apologies were ever made by Mr. Hillier, but the position of this House disavowing the member’s conduct as being unacceptable will stay on the member’s record forever. Today, we are asking that the House apply the same standard as it has done in the past.

No one questions the inappropriateness of the member’s statement, not even her own party leader, who was one of the first to condemn it. The member’s statement received almost immediate condemnation from the people of Ontario. I believe it is beneficial to review some of the condemnation so that members of the House can be fully aware how the member has disparaged the reputation of this House. I will read you some quotes, Madam Speaker.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs:

“Israeli babies beheaded, Israeli young women raped, more than 100 Israeli men, women, & children kidnapped, and 900 & counting murdered at the hands of #Hamas terrorists and this is what Ontario MPP @SarahJama_ has to say.

“This statement is *filled* with lies that will do nothing to create peace & will only serve to foment hatred against #Canada’s Jewish community.”

“We call for the immediate removal of Jama.”