CEASEFIRES AND NEGOTIATIONS NOW!

DISARM NOW! BAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS!

On United Nations International Peace Day, 9.21.2022, the need for de-escalations, negotiations, disarmament and understanding could not be more urgent. Nuclear war is looming, especially as Russia may be motivated to retaliate against the US, Europe and Canada. Devastating military conflicts are dragging on and increasing in number while the arms trade and militarism are on the rise. We are faced with mass deaths, starvation and displacement and obliteration of biological and social ecologies. Economic sanctions are today being a great cause for deprivation and insecurity; we oppose such tools of war, too, just as we oppose war profiteering.

The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network, an association of numerous organizations from coast to coast in Canada working for peace, calls for all peace-loving and concerned people to stand up and speak up for genuine and lasting peace on September 21. It will take a united, worldwide effort to attain peaceful resolutions and set humanity on the path toward peaceful coexistence. Let us work toward saving life and the wise use of the planet. Peace will allow the people of the world to find solutions to problems such as economic instability, global warming, food insecurity, lack of housing and so on.

The military gobbles up huge quantities of natural resources, destroying life and cultures. It is highly polluting. The US military, the world’s largest consumer of crude oil, is estimated to have a carbon footprint bigger than other countries. Extraction and force often go hand in hand, violating land and human rights.

The Peace and Justice Network holds the Canadian government and many big corporations responsible for their part in aggression. We object to the subordination of Canadian foreign policy to US foreign policy. We call for Canada to get out of NATO and distance itself from US / NATO policy. We want Canada to work towards ending wars in and military projects such as the Ukraine, Yemen and Syria, and terminating military exercises such as RIMPAC and those by the Korean Peninsula. Canada should condemn Israel’s illegal and wanton occupation of Palestine. We also demand that Canada’s military budget be decreased so as to release more funds for much needed social protection and development. Furthermore, we insist that Canada sign the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The Network is against the proposed purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets, whose purchase will cost Canadians around $39 billion. We stand against the purchase of armed drones, as well. What’s more, we oppose the sale of light armoured vehicles or other supplies for Saudi Arabia that would be implemented for further attacks on Yemen or others. The Saudi Arabia-led coalition against Yemen has caused an extreme humanitarian disaster and must be stopped.

Join the demonstrations and other activities to support the campaigns for ceasefires, disarmament and negotiations. Demand that Canada get out of NATO and disentangle itself from US foreign affairs. Let us work to replace the war economy with a new human project for genuine and lasting peace in a caring world.

CWPJN #PeaceDay Events

Action Ideas & Resources

• Write letter: Militarizing the Sky: Opposing Canada’s Armed Drone Purchase
• Write Letter: CANCEL THE TORONTO AIR SHOW
• Write Letter: Stop the Weapons, Stop the War, Withdraw from NATO
• #NoIsraeliArms4Canada: Write letter to Canadian Ministers of Transport and Procurement
• Write Letter: No New Fighter Jets – Invest in a Just Recovery and a Green New Deal!

Whatever action you decide to take, remember to reflect your action on social media with the hashtags #InternationalDayofPeace, #PeaceDay, #PeaceDay2022, and/or #InternationalPeaceDay so activists and organizations across Canada can amplify each others actions!

Canada has blood on its hands.

Now approaching its seventh year, the war in Yemen has killed over a quarter of a million people. Over 4 million people have been displaced because of the war, and 70% of the population, including 11.3 million children, are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

The Saudi-led coalition has bombed Yemeni markets, hospitals, and civilians, and yet Canada has exported over $8 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia since 2015, the year the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen began. It’s despicable for Canada to be profiting from selling arms to Saudi Arabia.

The UN Human Rights Council has twice named Canada as one of the states fueling the ongoing war in Yemen by continuing arms sales to Saudi Arabia.

After months of escalating organizing across the country — from arms blockades and banner drops, to car caravans and dozens of protests, to media exposés and damning reports — we know the Trudeau government is feeling the pressure.

Send a letter now calling on the Canadian government to stop sending weapons to Saudi Arabia and stop arming the horrific war in Yemen. Canada must immediately end all arms exports to Saudi Arabia, expand humanitarian aid for the people of Yemen, and work with trade unions to develop a plan for a just transition for arms industry workers who would be impacted by the cessation of arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

March 25/26 2021

March 25/26 marks 6 years of a brutal U.S.-backed, Canada-armed, Saudi-led war on Yemen. Alongside an indiscriminate and ongoing bombing campaign, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, backed by the United States, have imposed an air, land and sea blockade on Yemen. The blockade has caused critical fuel and food shortages, resulting in 400,000 children at risk of dying right now in Yemen, as reported by CNN. Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the United Nations had declared  Yemen the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Now Yemen is facing famine along with the Covid-19 pandemic, with an overwhelmed medical system devastated by war and blockade.

Alongside the U.S. and U.K., Canada also has blood on its hands as it also continues to profit from selling arms to Saudi Arabia and other countries in the military coalition. On September 28, 2020, the UN Human Rights Council named Canada as one of the parties fueling the ongoing war in Yemen by continuing arms sales to Saudi Arabia. Canada exported nearly $2.9-billion worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia in 2019.

The war on Yemen must stop! Antiwar and peace activists and organizations are marking 6 years of the war on Yemen with days of action on March 25 and 26. As fellow activists across Canada, we encourage you to hold actions in your towns and cities on these days. Actions can include street actions, car caravans, webinars, letter writing, and social media campaigns, considering your local situation.

 Action Ideas & Resources

• Share your action or posts against war on Yemen on social media using the hashtag #YemenCantWait and #CanadaStopArmingSaudi. There is also sample social media messaging at https://tinyurl.com/y7d45aar and shareable graphics at https://tinyurl.com/5rpjvvnz

• Deliver a letter: 68 organizations across Canada have signed a letter to demand that Canada Stop Arming Saudi and to highlight 28 companies in Canada complicit in this arms deal. The letter has been delivered in person to Justin Trudeau’s office, as well as a number of other MPs and companies listed in it. We encourage others to also deliver the letter to government officials and named companies in your area. If you take this action remember to take a photo of the delivery and post on social media using the hashtags #CanadaStopArmingSaudi and #YemenCantWait. Photos of letter deliveries are being collected and posted here.
• Residents of Canada are invited to sign these two parliamentary petitions:
  • Petition 3122, sponsored by MP Matthew Green
  • Petition 3075, sponsored by MP Jenica Atwin

• Use a protest poster for your protests or to post on social media. Post the image or take a selfie with it!
  • To Justin Trudeau at https://docdro.id/Bt8cqdD 
  • To Joseph Biden at https://www.docdroid.net/AVSipmK 
  • To Boris Johnson at https://www.docdroid.net/2neSzm0 
  • General posters: https://www.docdroid.net/olIxldV or https://www.docdroid.net/elEtw5z/

Whatever action you decide to take, remember to reflect your action on social media with the hashtag #CanadaStopArmingSaudi and #YemenCantWait so activists and organizations across Canada can amplify each others actions!