Samidoun: Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network has been officially dissolved in Canada, a year and a half after it was proscribed as a terror entity over its ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
The Canadian government announced the dissolution on March 27. Despite the designation in October 2024, Samidoun remained (until now) a nonprofit organization, something which Jewish organizations lobbied against.
The Canadian government proposed amendments to the Canada Business Corporations Act, the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act, and the Canada Cooperatives Act in order to achieve a quicker dissolution of a federal corporation listed as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.
“This measure benefits all Canadians by strengthening federal anti-terrorism tools and by helping to maintain public trust in our institutions, including the federal corporate registry,” the government wrote in the 2025 budget.
The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said this outcome “reflects sustained, determined advocacy by CIJA, supported by thousands across our community, to ensure Canada has the tools needed to confront organizations linked to terrorism.”
With the adoption of the 2025 federal budget, the Canadian government now has clear authority to dissolve corporations identified as listed terrorist entities under the Criminal Code.
B’nai Brith Canada called it a “step in the fight against extremism and radicalization in Canada.”
Samidoun director arrested by Vancouver police
Samidoun was incorporated in Vancouver as a nonprofit organization in 2021.
The directors of Samidoun, according to Corporations Canada, are Netherlands resident Thomas Hofland, Surrey resident Dave Diewert, and Vancouver resident Charlotte Kates.
Kates, described by Samidoun as its international coordinator, has been public about her leadership role in the PFLP proxy and continued to promote the group on her social media accounts even after the October 2024 ban – despite having faced legal issues following her in-person protests.
She was arrested by Vancouver Police in May 2024 following an April 29 rally in which she urged for the removal of PFLP, Hamas, and Hezbollah from Canada’s list of terrorist entities and led a crowd in cheers of “long live October 7.”
Charges were never filed, leading OneBC Party interim leader and Vancouver-Quilchena MLA Dallas Brodie to file a private prosecution against Kates on August 20.