To whom it may concern,

I am writing to request a formal review and risk assessment regarding the entry and scheduled speaking engagement of Ben Shapiro at an upcoming event in Canada.

Mr. Shapiro is a high-profile political commentator whose public record includes repeated statements targeting specific ethnic, religious, and social groups in ways that are dehumanizing and inflammatory. These include characterizations of Palestinians as inherently aligned with terrorism and assertions that generalize Muslims as connected to extremism.

While such statements may fall within the bounds of lawful expression in some jurisdictions, their cumulative effect raises legitimate concerns in the Canadian context. Canada’s social fabric is built on multiculturalism, religious freedom, and the protection of minority communities. Public messaging that frames entire populations as dangerous, inferior, or collectively responsible for violence risks contributing to an environment where hostility toward those groups may be normalized.

These concerns are reflected in a number of documented public statements, several of which are provided below for your review:

• Regarding Palestinians, Mr. Shapiro has written that the “Palestinian Arab population… breeds terrorism, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism,” and has argued that “Palestinian Arabs must be fought on their own terms: as a people dedicated to an evil cause.” He has referred to “the Palestinian people, who dress their toddlers in bomb belts,” and described them as “the Palestinian people, who stage injuries in order to solicit Western media sympathy.”

• In a widely circulated social media post, he stated: “Israelis like to build. Arabs like to bomb crap and live in open sewage.”

• He has also made statements that appear to conflate the Muslim population with extremist organizations, including suggesting that large portions of the global Muslim population are “radicalized,” and framing the primary representatives of Muslims as groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and similar entities.

• In past commentary, he supported the idea of transferring or expelling Palestinian populations, writing that “expelling a hostile population is a commonly used and generally effective way of preventing violent entanglements”

• On LGBTQ-related issues, Mr. Shapiro has made remarks that have been criticized as dismissive or derogatory.

There is also concern about how highly polarizing rhetoric may be received by audiences. In the case of the 2017 Quebec City mosque shooting, it was reported that the perpetrator had repeatedly viewed Mr. Shapiro’s social media content in the period leading up to the attack. This example illustrates how strongly framed narratives about identifiable groups may be consumed by individuals already vulnerable to extremist thinking.To echo the sentiments of Judge Renee Pomerance when sentencing the man responsible for the killing of the Afzaal family in London Ont in 2021, “The tentacles of hate can reach a broad audience when they are merely a click away.”

Given Canada’s commitment to protecting minority communities and maintaining public safety, the presence of a speaker with a documented history of such rhetoric may contribute to:

• Heightened fear or distress among targeted communities

• Increased likelihood of protests or counter-protests

• Potential escalation of tensions requiring law enforcement intervention

• The broader normalization of adversarial or dehumanizing narratives

I respectfully submit that this situation warrants additional scrutiny under applicable public safety, national security, and admissibility considerations, and I urge your agency to examine it accordingly and determine whether precautionary measures should be implemented.

This request is not intended to restrict lawful expression, but to ensure that potential risks are evaluated responsibly and proactively in line with Canada’s public safety priorities.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,