Canada’s Project Resolute Uses Drones, No-Go Zones Amid 1,800% Hate Crime Surge; York University Report Highlights Suppression

Canada has implemented a coordinated campaign known as Project Resolute to crack down on pro-Palestine protests, employing measures such as drones, no-go zones, and enhanced policing tactics. This initiative includes encampment crackdowns and the enforcement of bubble zone bylaws aimed at restricting dissent. Concurrently, there has been a notable increase in hate crimes targeting Muslim and Palestinian communities in Canada since the outbreak of Israel's war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, with some regions experiencing a surge in hate incidents by as much as 1,800%. A report from York University’s Islamophobia Research Hub titled "Documenting the Palestine Exception" highlights a rise in Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, media bias, and the suppression of pro-Palestine voices. In Toronto, protesters outside the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) office in Etobicoke organized a phone campaign directed at Immigration Minister Lena Diab to address delays in the Temporary Residency Visa Program for Gazans. Meanwhile, in the UK, authorities have reportedly threatened arrest of protesters displaying Palestinian flags and slogans such as "Free Gaza" and "Israel is Committing Genocide," raising concerns about restrictions on free speech.