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Good evening. Shalom.

Thank you, Adam Silver.

Thank you to all those who are joining us today to pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the Hamas terrorist attack of October 7.

And, above all, thank you to the Jewish Federation of Ottawa for organizing this solemn and important ceremony.

Thank you to the parliamentarians from all parties who are here today – 

Including members from my Cabinet, ministers Bill Blair, Mélanie Joly, Arif Virani, Marc Miller, Karina Gould, Jenna Sudds, Terry Beech, Kamal Khera, Randy Boissonnault, Marci Ien, Rechie Valdez, Ahmed Hussen, and Steven MacKinnon.

Along with MPs Yasir Naqvi, Anita Vandenbeld, Marie-France Lalonde, Julie Dabrusin, Valerie Bradford, Francesco Sorbara, Judy Sgro, Terry Duguid, Lisa Hepfner, Ali Ehsassi, and Joyce Murray.

365 days ago, we were all shaken to our very cores.

As we, Canadians, woke up on a peaceful autumn morning, Israelis and Jews across the globe were living a nightmare.

1,200 innocents murdered.

Young revellers with their whole lives ahead of them slaughtered.

Entire communities burnt to the ground.

Children traumatized and orphaned.

Women raped and mutilated.

Families shattered and broken.

Over 250 people forced into captivity at the barrel of a gun.

The single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.

I want to sit with that for a second.

Almost 80 years since the end of the Holocaust.

Almost 80 years since we, collectively, said “never again”.

Terrorist organizations like Hamas, like Hezbollah, like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still seek to harm Jews just because they are Jews.

That’s not being a “freedom fighter” – it’s terrorism. Vile, antisemitic terrorism.

And it makes me sick to my stomach.

But the trauma of that day did not end on October 8.

What makes this barbaric attack that much more agonizing is the fact that you are reliving this nightmare every single day.

You relive it when cowards shoot and smash the windows of your schools and synagogues in the middle of the night.

You relive it when antisemites wave the flags of Hamas and Hezbollah on the streets of our cities.

You relive it when too many of our fellow Canadians downplay or dismiss your pain.

Telling you that the generational trauma you carry and the antisemitism you experience somehow isn’t real.

You relive it when the term “Zionist” is tossed around as a profanity.

A label for something other than what it truly means: believing in the right of Jewish people – like all people – to determine their own future.

A right our government supports and always will.

No one in Canada should ever be afraid to proudly call themselves a Zionist.

And somewhat ironically, you relive it when you must conceal the location of this very event for fear of violence.

Let me be frank: I believe it is unacceptable for any of this behaviour to be normalized.

And it is incumbent on me and every leader – from premiers to police chiefs – to give antisemitism no quarter.

To stop this rising hate.

And reverse its spread.

And yet, in spite of the pain that you live with every day, you’ve all shown your remarkable resilience.

In the hours immediately after October 7, you came together as a community to stand by each other.

To help those displaced by the attacks and the hostage families going through untold suffering.

You’ve shown that the depravity of these terrorists will not break your spirit.

That they will not take away your joy.

You continue to proudly embody the motto that defines what it means to be a Jew.

Am Yisrael Chai – the people of Israel live.

Above all, I know that you will continue to live this nightmare – feeling that part of you is missing – until the 101 hostages still in Gaza are freed.

101 people whose lives are still hanging in the balance.

101 people who are suffering unimaginable torture, abuse, and humiliation.

That’s simply unacceptable.

We must end this conflict.

Surge humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of Gazans who are suffering.

Have Hamas lay down its arms and relinquish control of Gaza.

And bring the hostages home – now.

We must, once and for all, reject this violence that only brings death and destruction.

And build a better, more secure future – for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Before I conclude, I want to take a step back, look beyond the horrifying numbers and statistics, and remember the people.

Remember Vivian Silver. A Canadian-Israeli women’s rights and peace activist who devoted her life to building bridges between Israelis and Palestinians.

Remember Alexandre Look. A young man from my hometown of Montréal who lost his life protecting others at the Nova music festival.

Remember Netta Epstein. A nature lover so proud of his Canadian heritage who, without hesitation, jumped on a grenade to save his fiancée.

Remember Judih Weinstein. A compassionate mother of four whose family spoke glowingly about what an incredible person she was when I had the honour of meeting them a few months ago.

Let us remember 1,200 innocent souls taken from us far too soon.

May their memory be a blessing.

But more than that, may their memory be a revolution.

A revolution to bring about a world where violent Jew hatred, like the attacks of October 7, is unimaginable.

Thank you.