PV staff
Across Canada, anti-war and Palestine solidarity groups are mobilizing people to contact their Members of Parliament and press them to vote in favour of a call for a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo with Israel. The vote occurs on March 18, on a motion introduced by the NDP.
The “Opposition Day” motion, which is nonbinding, is the first opportunity for MPs to vote on Canada’s response to Israel’s genocidal war which began more than five months ago. During that time, the Canadian government has remained shamefully steadfast in its support for Israel – support which includes arms shipments, participation in military action against Houthi rebels in Yemen trying to blockade Red Sea shipments to Israel, and demonization and harassment of Palestine solidarity actions and organizations.
The motion, tabled by Edmonton MP Heather McPherson, includes many positions which peace, solidarity, human rights and humanitarian organizations have been calling for since the start of Israel’s siege of Gaza. Among the these are the demand for an immediate ceasefire, suspension of all military trade with Israel, reinstatement of UNRWA funding, a call for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories and for a “two-state solution,” and for Canada to officially recognize the State of Palestine.
Since the siege began, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed and two million people in Gaza have been displaced. Despite the January 26 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the siege constitutes a “plausible genocide,” Israel has continued its assault and is currently preparing for a ground offensive on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza.
In response to the ICJ ruling, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared that Canada “had no clear position” on the genocide.
[Photo: World Beyond War]
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