Toronto police have arrested and charged a man with two counts of mischief for allegedly urinating on the steps of a place of worship while shouting anti-Semitic slogans.
Buchanan was taken into police custody and charged July 12 and will make his first court appearance on Aug. 19. In addition to facing mischief charges for damage to a religious site and interfering with property, police noted that the Hate Crime Unit may apply for permission from Canada’s attorney general to pursue hate crime charges at a later date.
Buchanan’s alleged actions come amid an increase in anti-Semitic incidents across Canada, including the attempted arson of Vancouver’s Schara Tzedeck Synagogue in May 2024, a trio of gun attacks against a Toronto Jewish girls school last year, and a firebombing of Montreal’s Beth Tikvah synagogue in December of last year.
This past month, an employee with the City of Ottawa was dismissed after allegedly spray painting on an Ottawa Holocaust memorial. The individual, who has not been named by police, was also charged for mischief to a war memorial, mischief in excess of $5,000, and harassment by threatening conduct.
According to the report, anti-Semitic incidents included verbal harassment, threats, incitement, and bullying, including some physical violence, bomb threats, and teacher-sanctioned activities, noting that 49 percent of anti-Semitic incidents reported by students did not lead to an investigation by school authorities.
The report says that less than 60 percent of the incidents it uncovered in its survey related to Israel or Israel’s war with Hamas and instead were related to denying the Holocaust, accusing Jews of being too powerful, or a “blanket condemnation of Jews.”
Over half of Canada’s approximately 400,000 Jews reside in Ontario.
Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Anti-Semitism Deborah Lyons says anti-Semitic harassment is becoming an increasing problem across Canada, including provinces like B.C.
