The organization presents the following mission statement, as stated in the preamble to its constitution: B'nai Brith has taken upon itself the mission of uniting person of the Jewish faith in the work of promoting their highest interest and those of humanity; of developing and elevating the mental and moral character of the people of our faith; of inculcating the purest principles of philanthropy, honour and patriotism; of supporting science and art; alleviating the wants of the poor and needy; visiting and caring for the sick; coming to the rescue of the victims of persecution; providing for, protecting and assisting the aged, the widow and the orphan on the broadest principles of humanity.
[3] In September 2014, Ontario lawyer and former Conservative Party candidate Michael Mostyn[4] was appointed CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, succeeding Frank Dimant upon his retirement after 36 years with the organization.
In January 2004, Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association, filed a formal complaint against B'nai Brith Canada under the "discriminatory signs and statements" section of the Manitoba Human Rights Code.
[10] MHRC vice-chairwoman Yvonne Peters subsequently wrote that "the full investigation of the complaint that took place was warranted" and that "the decision was based solely on the insufficiency of the evidence with respect to this particular section of the Human Rights Code.
"[11] Writing in the National Post, Joseph Brean made several criticisms of the investigation: The MHRC accepted the complaint despite the fact that the complainant, Shahina Siddiqui, did not actually attend the event.
One of the witnesses, a diversity relations officer, stated that it was "pretty professional," and said police in general are capable of putting almost anything they hear into proper context.
"[10] In July 2009, B'nai Brith Canada issued a press release[12] denouncing Carleton University for hiring Hassan Diab, who was alleged by French authorities to have been responsible for the 1980 Paris synagogue bombing.
Diab was living under virtual house arrest at the time (he had been granted bail but under very strict conditions) due to an extradition request from France.
Within a few hours of the B'nai Brith Canada complaint, Carleton University announced that it would "immediately replace the current instructor, Hassan Diab" in order to provide students "with a stable, productive academic environment that is conducive to learning."
[14] Since then, four French anti-terrorism judges have uncovered testimony from several individuals stating that Diab was in Lebanon at the time of the bombing as well as university records which show he wrote and passed exams in Beirut then and couldn't have been in Paris.
[16] In 2019, B'nai Brith unearthed a series of controversial comments and social media posts made by Hassan Guillet, a parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Party in that year's Canadian federal election.
In the year following Dimant's retirement, B'nai Brith Canada put its "state of the art" care facility for Alzheimer's patients under insolvency protection while also trying to sell it.
[22] The Toronto Star article also claimed that other issues left by Dimant's former management of B'nai Brith are a lack of records and record keeping and failure to always issue charitable tax receipts and poor corporate governance with approximately 50 people who had believed they were on various boards of B'nai Brith organizations learning that this is not the case, as Dimant's management had failed to file the correct paperwork with government agencies.
Luba Fedorkiw a candidate for the Progressive Conservative Party in Winnipeg during the 1984 general election, sued B’nai B’rith Canada after a local newspaper reported that ite was investigating allegations that she had made antisemitic comments.
[32] In 2018, CUPW sued B’nai Brith for suggesting that the union supported terrorism in newsletters and Facebook posts because it had co-operated with Palestinian postal workers.
[33] B’nai Birth tried to have the case dismissed using Ontario’s anti-SLAPP legislation, which is designed to block lawsuits intended to stifle speech and legitimate criticism of matters of public interest.
[35] The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed settlement amount and B’nai Birth apologized for the harm its publications may have caused CUPW and its members.
[36] In 2022, Javier Davila, an educator at the Toronto District School Board, sued B’nai Brith and its CEO, Michael Mostyn, for defamation.
On November 9, 2009, B'nai Brith Canada ran a full page ad in the National Post comparing radical Islam with Nazism.
[45][46][47] In February 2016, the organization revealed that the Windsor, Ontario newspaper 'al-Forqan' called for terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians as "sacred duty of jihad".
[52] Among other notable Canadians to have received the Award of Merit are Lindsay Gordon, Blake Goldring, Frank Stronach, Tony Comper, Al Waxman, Wallace McCain, Lloyd Axworthy, Gordon F. Henderson, Mayor Jean Drapeau, George Cohon, Leo Kolber, former Liberal Prime Minister of Canada Paul Martin, hockey legend Jean Béliveau, Paul Tellier, former Ontario Premier Bill Davis, Ambassador Allan Gotlieb, Monty Hall, Izzy Asper, Guy Charbonneau, former Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon, former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister of Canada Herb Gray, former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed, Edward Samuel "Ted" Rogers, former Alberta Premier Ernest Manning, and Calin Rovinescu.