June 30, 2025
OTTAWA – Following allegations that a government employee vandalized Canada’s National Holocaust Monument earlier this month, B’nai Brith Canada is urging lawmakers to mandate antisemitism training for civil servants at all levels.
Over the weekend, Ottawa police arrested 46-year-old Ian Aspliender, who is alleged to have used red paint on or about June 9 to desecrate the monument and scrawl the words “FEED ME.”
Aspliender was working as a solicitor for the City of Ottawa during the incident, although he was reportedly on a leave of absence at the time. He has since been fired, according to the City, which confirmed the decision Sunday.
“While we are extremely concerned about the incident and the weekend’s news, B’nai Brith Canada applauds the Ottawa Police Service and the City of Ottawa for their swift action,” said Richard Robertson, Research and Advocacy Director for B’nai Brith Canada. “This sort of targeted, hate-motivated vandalism is not only an attack on Canadian Jews, but also on our collective conception of this country’s multicultural, multifaith democracy.
“That a public servant may have been motivated to carry out such an egregious act is an indictment of the entire system. Our leaders must respond with more than mere condemnations – this is a clarion call for mandatory antisemitism training and more effective approaches to combating the scourge of hate plaguing this country.”
This is not the first time B’nai Brith Canada has stressed the importance of antisemitism training for all civil servants. Our organization has, in a series of submissions to federal and provincial governments, advocated for mandatory antisemitism training.
