Yves Engler

Yves Engler (born 1979 in Vancouver) is a Montreal-based writer and political activist. In addition to eleven published books, Engler's writings have appeared in the alternative press and in mainstream publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and Ecologist.

Yves Engler
Engler speaking at a presentation in 2005
Born1979
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Subject
  • Politics
  • activism
Website
yvesengler.com

His 2009 book The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy was short-listed for the Quebec Writers' Federation Mavis Gallant Prize for Non-Fiction.[1][2]

Biography

Engler moved to Montreal to study at Concordia University in the early 2000s, where he was elected a vice president of the Concordia Student Union. He was suspended by the university after the administration said he had been involved in a riot surrounding a visit to campus by then-former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which a Holocaust survivor and a rabbi were assaulted.[3] Engler's suspension was later made permanent when he violated a ban on political activity imposed by the university in the aftermath of the riot.[4]

Engler regularly attends rallies and demonstrations in Montreal, and coordinates speaking events centered around his books.

Activism

Haiti

Engler was critical of Canada's role in the 2004 Haitian coup d'état. He co-authored a report entitled Canada in Haiti: Waging War Against the Poor Majority and helped establish a group called the Canada-Haiti Action Network.

Engler presenting Pierre Pettigrew with a copy of the "Griffin report on human rights abuses in Haiti"

In June 2005, Engler interrupted a press conference being held by then-Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Pierre Pettigrew. Engler poured a bottle of cranberry juice onto Pettigrew and said, "Pettigrew lies, Haitians die."[5] The juice was meant to represent the blood Engler said was on the hands of the Canadian government due to its alleged involvement in the 2004 coup and subsequent United Nations peacekeeping mission.[6][7]

Israel

Engler supports the international campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel because of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.[8]

Controversy

During an unaired appearance on the Canadian Jewish podcast Treyf, Engler asserted that "antisemitism is of such insignificance that increasing something so insignificant is not that big a deal...more important to that is the bigger injustice of Palestinian rights," eliciting pointed opposition from the hosts.[9]

Engler later wrote that “antisemitism may be the most abused term in Canada today” and called the Jewish community "inward looking and affluent...[and] quick to claim victimhood." He expressed concern that "only 15%-17% of Jewish Montrealers live in intermarried (or common-law) households." [10] Critics said Engler's statements promoted antisemitic stereotypes of supposedly disproportionate Jewish wealth or influence.[11] Engler has condemned anti-Semitism and offered an explanation of the controversy on his webpage.[12]

Published works
  • Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority with Anthony Fenton. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, August 2005. ISBN 1-55266-168-7[13]
  • Playing Left Wing: From Rink Rat to Student Radical (RED/Fernwood Publishing, 2005)[14]
  • The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, April 2009. ISBN 978-1-55266-314-1[15]
  • Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, February 2010. ISBN 978-1-55266-355-4[16]
  • Stop Signs: Cars and Capitalism on the Road to Economic, Social and Ecological Decay with Bianca Mugyenyi, Published April 2011; ISBN 978-1-55266-384-4
  • Lester Pearson's Peacekeeping The Truth May Hurt. ISBN 978-1-55266-510-7 Fernwood Publishing (September 1, 2012)
  • The Ugly Canadian: Stephen Harper's Foreign Policy. Co-published with: Red Publishing ISBN 978-1-55266-530-5 (Published: 2012)
  • Canada in Africa: 300 years of aid and exploitation. Co-published by RED Publishing and Fernwood Publishing, August 2015. ISBN 978-1-55266-762-0
  • A Propaganda System — How Government, Corporations, Media and Academia Sell War and Exploitation, Fall 2016.
  • Left, Right: Marching to the Beat of Imperial Canada. Black Rose Books, 2019. ISBN 978-1-55164-663-3
  • House of Mirrors: Justin Trudeau's Foreign Policy. RED Publishing/Black Rose Books (2020)

References
  1. "The QWF Literary Awards". Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  2. "Shortlist for 2009 QWF awards" (PDF). Retrieved 17 February 2010.
  3. Blackwell, Richard (7 October 2005). "Activist loses fight to re-enter Concordia". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  4. http://rabble.ca/news/concordia-activist-faces-expulsion
  5. "Canada acting badly in Haiti, protester claims". CBC News. 18 June 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  6. "Pettigrew's Painter speaks about Haitian Blood on the hands of the Canadian Government". 17 June 2005. Retrieved 7 August 2009.
  7. Thomas M. Griffin, ESQ. (11–21 November 2004). "Griffin Report - Haiti Human Rights Investigation" (PDF). Center for the Study of Human Rights, University of Miami School of Law - (Professor Irwin P. Stotzky, Director). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2009.
  8. "Tadamon!: 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid".
  9. "Short: Antisemitism on the Left with Spencer Sunshine", Treyf podcast,, Sep 21, 2016
  10. https://dissidentvoice.org/2016/04/anti-semitism-the-most-abused-word-in-canada
  11. Goldstein, Yoni (27 April 2016). "Getting the facts wrong about anti-Semitism in Canada". Canadian Jewish News. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  12. https://yvesengler.com/controversies/
  13. "Canada in Haiti". Fernwood Publishing. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  14. "Playing Left Wing". Fernwood Publishing. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  15. "The Black Book of Canadian Foreign Policy". Fernwood Publishing. Retrieved 19 November 2009.
  16. "Canada and Israel". Fernwood Publishing. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
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