Poilievre Calls on Ottawa to List Pro-Palestine Group Samidoun as Terrorist Entity

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks to reporters in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Oct. 3, 2023. The Canadian Press/Justin Tang

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling for the federal government to designate pro-Palestine group Samidoun as a terrorist organization and ban it from operating in Canada.

Samidoun, which describes itself as a solidarity network for Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons, is a “front” for the Popular Front of the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), Poilievre said during an Oct. 8 press conference. The PFLP was added to the list of terrorist entities in 2003.

Poilievre noted that the previous day, members of the organization had marked the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel by gathering at the Vancouver Art Gallery to chant, “Long live October 7,” and “Death to Canada, Death to the United States and death to Israel.”

“This is a terrorist organization,” Poilievre said at a press conference in Ottawa, while calling for the government to ban Samidoun under Section 83.03 of the Criminal Code.

Public Safety Canada previously told The Epoch Times that while it cannot disclose entities that may be listed under the Criminal Code, “we can assure Canadians that security and law enforcement officials are continuously working to identify and assess entities that may meet the threshold for listing.”

The Conservative leader said the Israeli government has described Samidoun’s leader Khaled Barakat as a high-ranking member of the PFLP and classified Samidoun as a subsidiary of the group in 2021. The German government banned Samidoun in 2023.

Samidoun’s director Charlotte Kates has appeared on Iranian television to describe Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 as “brave and heroic,” Poilievre added. Kates was arrested in Vancouver in May 2024 as part of a hate crime investigation. She was released with an order not to attend any protests for the next five months.

Poilievre’s statement came the same day that Conservative Party of B.C. Leader John Rustad called for Ottawa to designate Samidoun as a terrorist organization. He said chants from members at the Vancouver protest amounted to “incitement to violence and terrorism.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has also called for Samidoun to be added to the list of terrorist entities.

Samidoun did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

Poilievre called for Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly to denounce “genocidal chants from hateful mobs” during question period Oct. 7. Joly responded by listing the names of the Canadian victims of last year’s attack, saying Canada would continue to stand with Israel and would do its part to help bring the remaining hostages home.

Poilievre rose again and accused Joly of continuing to “pander to Hamas supporters in the Liberal Party.”

Joly later told reporters Poilievre was “trying to play petty politics on the backs of victims” and that he should apologize.

Poilievre said the next day that Joly should “find it very easy to condemn” anti-Semitic language but was “pandering politically.” He added that she should be the one to apologize.

House Speaker Greg Fergus prevented Poilievre from speaking during the Oct. 8 session in the House of Commons for refusing to apologize for his remarks to Joly.

Poilievre was questioned by a reporter during his press conference about comments he made during an Oct. 7 event that Israel should be able to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities in response to Iranian missile attacks on the country last week.

Poilievre responded that allowing a “genocidal, theocratic, unstable dictatorship” to develop nuclear weapons would be dangerous for the world, and that Israel’s prevention of the country gaining that capability would be “a gift by the Jewish state to humanity.”

Iran is believed to not possess nuclear weapons but to have an advanced nuclear program, according to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. U.S. President Joe Biden recently said he opposed Israeli strikes against Iran’s nuclear program.