Crown and Indigenous Relations Minister Mark Miller said he was unaware that his office had approved the Community Media Advocacy Center (CMAC) summer employment grant. .
record Miller’s office provided CMAC with $795 in funding under the 2018 Canada Summer Jobs Program in his constituency of Ville-Marie, Quebec.the minister later confirmed statement The total amount of funds granted to the group was $2,882.
In a series of Twitter posts, Miller said, “Not one cent of government funds should be given to an organization that holds anti-Semitic views” and that “the money given should be taken back regardless of the time elapsed. There is,” he said.
Don’t give a cent of government money to an organization that holds anti-Semitic views. In 2018, I noticed that the Community Media Advocacy Center, which operates out of Montreal, received about $800 as part of the Canada Summer Jobs program.
— Mark Miller (@MarcMillerVM) August 29, 2022
Until recently, Laith Marouf was listed on the CMAC website as a senior consultant, but on his now-suspended Twitter account, he described himself as a “Jewish white supremacist.”
“You know all those big-mouthed bags of human feces, also called Jewish white supremacists. will return to a low voice. [expletive] of their Christian/secular white supremacist masters
CMAC has since removed the list of consultants from its website.
fund cut
In 2021, CMAC received a grant of over $133,800 from the Heritage Department to build an “anti-racism strategy” for Canadian Broadcasting. On August 22, Diversity Minister Ahmed Hussen, who oversees diversity and inclusion programs under the Heritage Department, said a notice was sent to the CMAC that government funding had been cut and anti-racism programs had been suspended. said.
inside August 29 press conferenceIn 2018, Miller said hundreds of organizations had applied for summer employment grants, and added he did not know if Maloof attended CMAC in 2018.
“[Marouf has] He made a terrible anti-Semitic statement that we should have known sooner,” he said.
When asked about the review process for organizations that receive grants, Miller said his riding office does not decide who wins the grant.
“There are some organizations that exceed the criteria. They are usually well known and have done admirable work and have been funded in the past hiring really talented people to do great civic work. said Miller.
“What my office does is go through the approved majority to see if there is any imbalance in the fundraising objectives we are looking for.”
Miller also defended precinct office officials.
“The two or three people who work in my equestrian office cannot run this program, establish recommended funding options, or have the final say on who receives funding. Never,” said Miller. on Twitter August 29th.
“Having said that, it is clear that had we known this individual’s connection to CMAC in 2018, we would have requested that this organization not receive any funding.”
Noé Chartier contributed to this report.
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Andrew Chen is a reporter for the Epoch Times based in Toronto.