By Julie Lesser
Tribune Correspondent
MONTREAL – The Canadian Jewish Public Affairs Committee, which proudly defines its mission as working on behalf of Jewish community interests, continues to maintain a wall of silence surrounding the availability of basic information to the public.
CJPAC’s JOSH COOPER
Josh Cooper, executive director of CJPAC, recently told the Jewish Tribune that he will not talk to the media or provide information about the association’s participation in the January federal election. He would also not respond to any questions about the possibility that CIJA-PAC’s tax-receipted memberships were transferred to his organization.
“I don’t have time for the media,” Cooper said when contacted by telephone. “We don’t give out information about our membership or our volunteers. I’m too busy.”
Cooper then referred the Jewish Tribune to the CJPAC web site, which includes testimonials from alleged members, defined only by their first names, who sing the praises of CJPAC and describe their experiences volunteering for candidates during the election.
When asked whether he would provide the full names, addresses or phone numbers of these individuals, as well as an explanation of how CJPAC obtained its 3,000 members, Cooper once again stated that he would not provide any information, despite the disclosure responsibilities of registered lobby groups.
Certainly the government and the community purported to be represented should be informed. Such principles are reflected in the Lobbyist’s Code of Conduct, established by the Canadian government in 1997, lobby groups must reflect values of integrity, impartiality and honesty in all interactions with the public and must willingly divulge all information regarding lobbying activities. They must never knowingly mislead anyone or hide information, even inadvertently.
The CJPAC claims to be a completely independent organization, free from ties to any other Jewish or political groups, but facts prove otherwise. In an email to the community on the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s web site, Executive Director Mark Gurvis, fully endorses CJPAC and encourages readers to visit its web site to register as election volunteers.
In addition, STAND Canada, an organization of “Canadian students fighting indifference in Darfur,” promotes a campaign called the STAND-CJPAC Campaign Volunteer Initiative. Its purpose is to motivate students to get involved in the Canadian political process and speak out on behalf of crimes against humanity in Darfur. Yet CJPAC states that it works to strengthen the relationship between Canada and Israel and advance the Jewish community’s interests. This program, which may be worthwhile, is not something that, on the surface at least, would strengthen the relationship between Canada and Israel. The program states it is open to students of any religious affiliation, yet further details, including CJPAC’s involvement, remain sketchy.
“There is no veil of secrecy,” said STAND Canada’s Ben Fine, “but we do not share information on participants in order to respect their privacy.”
The Canadian Jewish Law Students’ Association, which claims to “represent all Jewish law students in Canada,” also has a link to CJPAC on its site. The association did not respond to repeated requests asking them to provide names of student volunteers or activists.
Mark Abramowitz, a recently defeated Progressive Canadian Party candidate, has reversed his stance on whether CJPAC had provided him with volunteers during his campaign. He now claims that CJPAC had nothing to do with his efforts, despite previous statements to the contrary.
“I did not receive any volunteer assistance from CJPAC nor did they contribute any money to my campaign,” said Abramowitz.
Many questions remained unanswered regarding CJPAC and it appears Josh Cooper has decided to keep it that way.
There appears to be no staff on hand at the CJPAC offices and no information regarding staff, members, board members or even CJPAC’s address on their web site. The majority of text is dedicated to a legal disclaimer. No explanation is forthcoming as to who pays Cooper’s salary. Were tax-receipted memberships automatically transferred from CIJA-PAC to CJPAC? What is the membership fee and who are CJPAC members? Did CJPAC help any candidates or parties during the recent election?
As an organization that defines its primary responsibility as advancing the interests of the Canadian Jewish community, CJPAC’s ongoing refusal to provide details remains both worrisome.
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