An official at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce wrote something accurate in a CIBC publication. As a result he has been disciplined by the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, his offensive words have been expunged, and he will undergo re-education to prevent further occurrences of thought crime: Bank Apologizes To Canadian Muslims For ‘Insensitive’ Comments. (Hat tip: Baldy.)

OTTAWA, CANADA — (OfficialWire) — 04/21/05 — The Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN) is pleased to announce that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) has issued an apology to Canadian Muslims for comments made by Jeff Rubin, Chief Economist and Chief Strategist of CIBC World Markets’ Economic and Strategy division.

In the April 5, 2005 issue of the Monthly Indicators, Mr. Rubin wrote: “The first two oil shocks were transitory, as political events encouraged oil producers to seize full sovereignty over their resources and temporarily restrict supply. This time around there won’t be any tap that some appeased mullah or sheik can suddenly turn back on.”

In a letter to CIBC World Markets, CAIR-CAN Executive Director Riad Saloojee wrote: “We are gravely concerned that Mr. Rubin is promoting stereotyping of Muslims and Arabs in a CIBC publication & We request that Mr. Rubin and CIBC World Markets issue a letter of apology and undergo sensitization training regarding Muslims and Arabs.”

In his response, CIBC World Markets Chairman and CEO Brian Shaw stated: “First, let me state that we take the concerns expressed in your letter very seriously. While the comments were in no way intentional or meant to offend anyone in the Muslim or Arab community, we agree that, in hindsight, the comments were insensitive.

”We have taken immediate steps to address this issue. We have reviewed all aspects of the matter with Jeff Rubin and we will be providing him with training to ensure that this situation does not occur again in the future. In addition, Jeff has withdrawn the research report from the World Markets website, redrafted the paragraph in question and reposted the amended report back to the website.”