"It's not something that's going away, and it needs to be addressed" said Tony Comper. "We thought it was very important for... members of the non-Jewish community to stand together and speak out against this manifestation."

According to B'nai Brith Canada's League for Human Rights, there were 857 reported incidents of harassment, violence and vandalism targeting Canada's Jews in 2004, the worst year for anti-Semitic activity in more 50 years. The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, which surveyed 12 Canadian police forces, found Jews were the largest target of hate crimes motivated by religion. One-quarter of the 928 hate crimes reported were classified as anti-Semitic.

FAST will not keep silent:

"Above all we resolved that we would not allow another generation of Jewish children to grow up feeling fearful and unsafe just because they are Jewish, and wondering if anybody out there really cares. Well we do care. That's why FAST exists: to honour every Jewish child and promise the Jewish people they are not alone and on their own in Canada in this new century.

We are dedicated to the safety and well-being of every Jewish child in this country and we want the whole world to know it. Thanks to the commitment and generosity of the leaders listed below, FAST is working in partnership with the Jewish community to combat antisemitism in Canada. As we move ahead with this work, we also want to invite and challenge other non-Jews of good will to speak out against the “oldest hatred” in human history."

Here is the full PDF file of the newspaper ad from their May 12 launch.

And here is the Roll of Honour - FAST's initial 21 key supporters, in HTML format:

A. Charles Baillie
Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
TD Bank Financial Group;
Chancellor
Queen's University

John M. Cassaday
President and Chief Executive Officer
Corus Entertainment Inc.

Ed Clark
President and Chief Executive Officer
TD Bank Financial Group

Richard J. Currie
Chancellor of the
University of New Brunswick

Dominic D'Alessandro
President and Chief Executive Officer
Manulife Financial

Robert J. Foster
President and Chief Executive Officer
Capital Canada Limited

David A. Galloway
Chairman
BMO Financial Group

Peter C. Godsoe
Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Scotiabank Group

Linda Haynes and Martin Connell
Haynes Connell Foundation

Timothy J. Hearn
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
Imperial Oil Limited

John Hunkin
Chief Executive Officer
CIBC

Michael H. McCain
President and Chief Executive Officer
Maple Leaf Foods Inc.

Bill MacKinnon
Chief Executive Officer
KPMG LLP

C. Sanford McFarlane
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Davis + Henderson

Gordon M. Nixon
President and Chief Executive Officer
RBC Financial Group

Philip S. Orsino
President and Chief Executive Officer
Masonite International Corporation

Courtney Pratt
President and Chief Executive Officer
Stelco Inc.

Michael J. Sabia
President and Chief Executive Officer
Bell Canada Enterprises

Donald A. Stewart
Chief Executive Officer
Sun Life Financial

Rick Waugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
Scotiabank Group

W. Galen Weston
Chairman and President
George Weston Limited

So far, the Compers have raised more than $200,000. The money is being used to pay for the creation of a four-part DVD series that will be used to help teachers educate students between the ages of 10 and 14. Canadian Idol judge Ben Mulroney (son of former PM Brian Mulroney) has agreed to do the introduction.

Stuff like this makes you proud to be a Canadian.