Bernie Farber

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Bernie M. Farber (born 1951)^[1] is the chief executive officer of the Canadian Jewish Congress^[2] and a social activist. He is one of only two people designated by Canadian courts as an expert witness on hate crime.

Born in Ottawa, Ontario^[1], his father was a Polish Jew who lost his first wife, two children and other family members in the Holocaust. Farber cites his father's experience as a major motivation in his life, saying, "the pain my father endured during the war is what drove me to fight for social justice today.”^[3]

Farber received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University^[1] in Ottawa where he was involved in many social causes. He was a student leader with Ottawa's Jewish community and was also involved in the campaign to pressure the Soviet Union to allow Soviet Jews to emigrate. He graduated in 1975 and found a job with the Children’s Aid Society and the Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa-Carleton YSB. Farber also worked with Ottawa's Jewish Community Centre as Program Director in the 1970s where he is credited for developing the first all inclusive specialty day camp in which children with mental and physical disabilities were integrated into the camp.

While working with the Children's Aid Society in the early 1980s, Mr. Farber was actively involved with OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees Union) and served two terms as Chair of all CAS' organized by OPSEU. In 1983 Mr. Farber was seconded to OPSEU OPSEU where under then President Sean O'Flynn, worked with research director Sean Usher and others to advocate for better children's services in the province of Ontario.

Farber has been employed by the CJC since 1984. He was appointed chief executive officer in 2005 ^[4] and had previously been executive director of the CJC's Ontario section and CJC's National Community Relations Director.

In 1992, he was awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal.^[1]

In addition to the 125 medal Mr. Farber has received many other awards, including a Certificate of Merit from the Premier of Ontario for his leadership in the field of race relations and the Distinguished Service Award from the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs. He is an associate member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police, in recognition of his skill and knowledge in security and race-relations matters pertaining to the Jewish community. Mr. Farber has recently been selected by the Ontario government to serve as a member of the Hate Crimes Community Working Group and its follow-up grants committee. He also serves with the city of Vaughan Mayor’s Task Force on Community Safety and Security and has recently been appointed by the York Region Chief of Police, Armand LaBarge to the York Regional Police Community Crime Prevention Advisory Council .

Farber is a published author and has contributed numerous articles on the Jewish political scene, human rights issues, the Holocaust, hate crime and white supremacy to newspapers and periodicals including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Globe and Mail, the National Post, the Toronto Star, and many others.^[5]