Ian Kagedan (March 2, 1955 – February 17, 2014) was a Canadian public servant known for his work on inter-religious and inter-ethnic relations. Formerly National Director of Government Relations of

B'nai Brith Canada B'nai Brith Canada ( ; BBC; from he, בני ברית, b'né brit, Children of the Covenant) is a Canadian Jewish service organization and advocacy group. It is the Canadian chapter of B'nai B'rith International. Mission The organization prese ...

He was appointed to serve on the

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

. Kagedan, who was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada, was educated at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

and at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. He died in February 2014 at the age of 58.

Positions

Kagedan is noted for arguing that Hate propaganda can do damage by changing attitudes "even when the audience is unreceptive." Kagedan has supported the Canadian ban on telephone hate messages, saying that, "It is not a matter of free speech. It is poison.""Injunction Bans Telephone Hate Messages,"

The Jewish Post & News ''The Jewish Post & News'' of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is Western Canada's first and oldest Anglo-Jewish newspaper, so described because its language was English rather than Yiddish though its concerns were those of the Canadian Jewish communi ...

, April 1, 1992.

Awards

Kagedan is a recipient of the

125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal The 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal (french: Médaille commémorative du 125e anniversaire de la Confédération du Canada) is a commemorative medal struck by the Royal Canadian Mint to commemorate the 125th anniversary of ...

(January 1993).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagedan, Ian Canadian human rights activists Jewish human rights activists Canadian Jews Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada B'nai B'rith Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni Columbia University alumni 1955 births 2014 deaths