Canadian arms embargo on Israel

 

Dear Chris,   Big news – we've had a real win this week in the campaign to implement an arms embargo on Israel. This week Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly announced that she had suspended 30 arms export permits to Israel and that the government would oppose the transfer of 50,000 mortars to be produced at General Dynamics in Quebec and slated to flow to Israel via the US.   Once again our movement has forced the government to do what it was determined not to — cut back the Canada-Israel arms trade, bit by bit, and move one step closer to an arms embargo.   Can you help spread the word about this win on Instagram, X, and Facebook?    To make sure everyone on Parliament Hill knows that this fight is far from over and we won't be distracted by the government taking just a couple steps towards an arms embargo, we also co-authored an op-ed published in the Hill Times today titled "Canada has failed to implement a meaningful arms embargo on Israel".   Here's a breakdown of what actually happened this week and what we still need to take action for: 30 Permits Suspended? For months, World BEYOND War has brought hundreds of organizations and thousands of individuals together through the #ArmsEmbargoNow campaign to demand that the government stop the flow of all weapons to and from Israel – not only pausing the approval of new weapons export permits, which we successfully forced them to do back in the winter, but also cancelling the 200+ previously approved permits that are still being used to send Canadian weapons to Israel.     The suspension of 30 of those 200+ permits announced this week is a big deal, but it’s just the first step. This week’s win shows exactly why we need a full arms embargo on Israel. All these permits must be cancelled. Explosives Made in Quebec to Be Exported Via the US? On top of the weapons exported directly from Canada to Israel, there are countless arms exports that use a loophole to go to Israel via the US. These exports aren’t tracked, reported, or regulated, and they don’t even require a permit.   Last month, we broke the news and raised the alarm about one such planned transfer of 50,000 explosives to be produced at General Dynamics in Quebec and sent to Israel via the US. Our Montreal chapter joined dozens of allied groups in Repentigny for a series of rallies at the General Dynamics factory. This week we successfully forced Joly to publicly oppose the shipment and commit to blocking it.   Now we need to keep up the pressure to make sure these explosives are actually blocked from going through. And this is just one instance of weapons going from Canada to Israel via the US. Every F35 currently dropping 2000 lb missiles on Gaza is made in the US using millions of dollars in Canadian technology.   We need a full arms embargo to close the US loophole and make sure that no Canadian weapons or military components make it to Israel via the US. What's Next? Our movement successfully pushed the Canadian government to take further steps towards an arms embargo on Israel. We are powerful, and we are having an impact.     With Parliament resuming next week, this is a critical moment to ramp up the pressure. We must make sure that all of the permits are cancelled, that the US loophole is closed once and for all, and that Canada stops funding the Israeli war machine by importing their weapons.   We won’t stop until we cut off the flow of all weapons both to and from Israel — a full arms embargo.   We've got some big next steps in the works to escalate the arms embargo demand, but, operating on a truly shoestring budget and with only one staff person in Canada (that's me!), we truthfully don't have the resources to pull it all off. Can you chip in to make some of our ambitious arms embargo campaign plans possible? Every contribution makes a big difference to what we can pull off. And stay tuned for new calls to action coming soon.   In solidarity,  Rachel Canada Organizer, World BEYOND War P.S. World BEYOND War is 10 years old! We have tons of accomplishments behind us and, of course, massive struggles ahead. We're taking a 90-minute pause to enjoy each other's company and the sustaining happiness that comes from our experiences engaged together in moving the world toward peace and away from the madness of war.   On October 19, 2024 from 3:00-4:30 pm ET: Join World BEYOND War's founders, board members, staff, advisory board, chapter organizers, volunteers, supporters, allies, and friendsfrom all over the world — we'll all be there! Details here.  World BEYOND War is a global network of volunteers, chapters, and affiliated organizations advocating for the abolition of the institution of war.                   Privacy policy. World BEYOND War | PO Box 152, Toronto PO E, ON, M6H 4E2 Canada

Kanada's first prisoner of conscience: Amnesty International

 

Dear Chris, My name is Chief Dsta’hyl. I’m a Wing Chief from the Likhts’amisyu Clan of the Wet’suwet’en Nation. Just recently, Amnesty International declared me the first-ever Prisoner of Conscience in Canada while I served a 60-day sentence under house arrest. I was simply protecting my ancestral land from the construction of a fossil fuel pipeline. Amnesty maintains I was unjustly deprived of my liberty, and I never should have been charged or sentenced in the first place. The news of this designation made headlines in many major Canadian media outlets. However, I’m not the only person who faced criminalization for trying to stop the pipeline through Wet’suwet’en territory. Several other Indigenous land defenders still await sentencing, or their trials haven’t started yet. Join me online on Wednesday, September 25th, at 12:00 p.m. EDT for a conversation hosted by Amnesty International, where I will share mystories. RSVP NOW The Prisoner of Conscience designation is not just about me. It symbolizes the collective struggle for Indigenous rights and recognition of Wet’suwet’en laws in Canada. During my house arrest, I reflected upon the continued sidelining of Wet’suwet’en laws by the government of so-called Canada. I’ve also been thinking a lot about the brave resistance of the Wet’suwet’en people alongside our neighbouring Nations in our efforts to protect our lands and keep our water and skies clean. For 240 years, we have faced incarceration on reserves and turned into ‘Status Indians’ by the colonial forces. Now, I stand as a ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ because of these ongoing injustices. I am grateful for Amnesty International's continued work in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation in our fight against the Coastal GasLink pipeline. Our unceded ancestral territory has been bulldozed without our free, prior, and informed consent. Amnesty’s report from last year, 'Removed from our land for defending it’: Criminalization, Intimidation and Harassment of Wet’suwet’en Land Defenders, revealed to the world what we have been saying for years. Under Canada’s ongoing violence against our people, we have experienced terrible human rights violations and the destruction of our pristine ecosystem—an increasingly precious commodity in the face of climate change. Your solidarity gives us strength to push forward, fighting for our rights and the recognition we deserve. I hope you will continue to support the Wet’suwet’en people in our ongoing call for authorities to respect our Indigenous rights and to stop criminalizing us. With gratitude, Chief Dsta’hyl P.S. Also, if you want to hear more of my story and ask questions, please register for my upcoming conversation with Amnesty International on Wednesday, September 25th, at 12:00 p.m. EDT. Learn More CBC News: “Amnesty International calls for Indigenous chief’s release” The Tyee: “Amnesty International Declares Its First ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ in Canada” Grist: Canada’s first ‘prisoner of conscience’ is an Indigenous land defender IndigiNews/Ricochet: “Meet the hereditary chief who Amnesty International calls ‘Canada’s’ first prisoner of conscience”

Here's a snippet from an email to Haiku Canada archivist Vicki McCullough:

I had the best summer in two years and spent many days peacefully wading at the local conservation area, Callaghan’s Rapids. Yep, fall has arrived VERY early here in southern Ontario. On my walk to the Marmora Mine yesterday leaves were falling and there was a chill to the windy day. It felt like Halloween was right around the corner. There’s a deserted house on the dirt road halfway to the mine, and I stood  watching it for 10 minutes, enjoying the frisson ;  )-

deserted house

where the old man died:

screen door banging and banging  

 

Amnesty International Canadian Section (English Speaking) 312 Laurier Ave E, Ottawa, ON K1N 1H9 1-800-266-3789 | members@amnesty.ca We’re so happy you’re here to hear about the most important updates on human rights! If necessary, you can choose to update your communication preferences or unsubscribe. Privacy Policy | View in Browser Registered Charitable Organization # 11878 5914 RR0001Kana

sixth mass planet extinction . . . or (David Suzuki)

 

This blog is read around the planet, so I'm reposting this for those who may not know about David Suzuki's excellent foundation. Apologies for the messy layout - I'm not very techy.

To view this email as a web page, click here

Paradigm shift needed to address climate change, biodiversity loss Much of the focus in trying to address climate breakdown is rightly on reducing emissions from burning gas, oil and coal. But an equally critical part of the equation is halting and reversing rampant destruction of the natural world. Whether or not you believe our planet and its biosphere operates like a living organism — “Gaia,” as the late scientist James Lovelock called it — there’s no denying it constitutes a harmoniously balanced system, with natural cycles that have evolved to support human and other life forms. From the hydrologic, or water cycle (whereby water cartwheels around the biosphere through evaporation, photosynthesis and precipitation) to the carbon cycle (in which carbon repeatedly moves from the atmosphere into Earth’s organisms and then back into the atmosphere), these intricately interconnected processes maintain an equilibrium that keeps temperatures and geological forces relatively stable and facilitates our existence. When forests and other green spaces are destroyed or altered, it affects the carbon and other cycles — as well as the myriad species that rely on these habitats. When one cycle is thrown out of balance, it affects all the others. Burning gas, oil and coal releases carbon that has been absorbed through solar energy and compressed and stored over millennia. This increases atmospheric carbon levels, which creates a heat-trapping blanket around Earth, causing the global average temperature to rise rapidly. This in turn affects systems such as the hydrologic cycle, creating increased precipitation and flooding in some areas and drought in others. Carbon is also stored in trees and other plants, and in oceans and wetlands. When forests and other green spaces are destroyed or altered, it affects the carbon and other cycles — as well as the myriad species that rely on these habitats. It’s all interconnected. “There is a double movement humanity must make,” said Susana Muhamad, president of the United Nations COP16 Biodiversity summit in Cali, Colombia, to be held in October. “The first one is to decarbonize and have a just energy transition. The other side of the coin is to restore nature and allow nature to take again its power over planet Earth so that we can really stabilize the climate.” Delegates to the 2022 COP15 summit in Montreal agreed to work toward halting biodiversity loss by protecting 30 per cent of the world's land, water and marine areas by 2030. This blog is read around the planet, so I'm reposting this email from the David Suzuki Foundation for those who may not know about his foundation.    Addressing the biodiversity crisis involves protecting remaining natural areas and restoring those our activities have damaged or destroyed. A Guardian article reports that the activities of a still-growing human population of more than eight billion has caused insect numbers to plummet, oceans to acidify and fill with plastic pollution and resources to rapidly become depleted. Animals and plants continue to go extinct at an alarming rate. Scientists have been warning for years that we’re approaching a sixth mass extinction, representing the most significant loss of life since dinosaurs were wiped out. In simple terms, resolving the climate crisis requires phasing out fossil fuels and cutting emissions. Addressing the biodiversity crisis involves protecting remaining natural areas and restoring those our activities have damaged or destroyed. But achieving those outcomes requires an even greater shift: a shift in consciousness to facilitate new ways of thinking about economics and human wellbeing. We can’t get out of the mess we’ve created using an outdated system based on endless growth and consumption — a system that prioritizes profit and measures progress by increases in gross domestic product, or GDP. We need ways to ensure people’s needs are met without destroying the natural systems that make life, good health and wellbeing possible. We need to use every available tool to halt and reverse the damage we’re wreaking on our planet and ourselves, but we must also stop placing humans at the centre of existence. It’s a dilemma because, in some respects, capitalism promotes innovation and technological advances — which are needed to resolve some of the most immediate problems. So, just as a transition from fossil fuel economies to more conservation-oriented ones using renewable energy is necessary, so too is a transition from profit-driven consumer capitalism to more benign forms and eventually to more enlightened systems altogether. We need to use every available tool to halt and reverse the damage we’re wreaking on our planet and ourselves, but we must also stop placing humans at the centre of existence. We are part of nature and what we do to it we do to ourselves. Many Indigenous Peoples have long understood this, but the current mainstream ideology of domination and exploitation has run roughshod over the kinds of knowledge that come from living in place and observing nature’s interconnectedness. We need to shift to a society based on respect, responsibility and reciprocity. By David Suzuki, with contributions from David Suzuki Foundation Senior Editor and Writer Ian Hanington Read Online Forward this email to a friend Share this story! Support the David Suzuki Foundation Your gift will help push for bold climate action, protect nature so it can sustain all life and create resilient communities that benefit everyone. Donate Today This email was sent to zenriver@sympatico.ca. To configure which emails we send you, please manage your content preferences here. If you no longer wish to receive any email from the David Suzuki Foundation, you can unsubscribe at any time. The David Suzuki Foundation is a registered charity in both Canada (BN 127756716RR0001) and the United States (94-3204049). We are located at 340-1122 Mainland Street, Vancouver, B.C., V6B 5L1, and we also have offices in Montreal and Toronto. Please visit our website for more information on how to contact us.