CJPME Team

There’s good news and bad news following the passage of a motion on Palestine last night in Parliament. The good news is that Parliament has agreed to stop arms exports to Israel! The NDP, the Bloc Québécois, the Greens, and almost the entire Liberal caucus supported the motion as it passed 204-117.

The bad news is that the Liberal cabinet imposed watered down language on the NDP motion before they would give their support. The outcome is that much of the power of the original motion has been neutralized, and the resulting motion does little to move the needle on Canadian policy on Palestine-Israel.

Nevertheless, the win in terms of an indefinite embargo on arms exports to Israel is significant. We thank our many partners and the tens of thousands of our supporters who worked together to support this motion; it would never have passed without such strong grassroots action! While the motion wasn’t the “huge breakthrough” we were hoping for, it’s a starting point we can build on. We must now maintain the pressure on the Liberals so that they hold Israel accountable for its genocide and many other crimes against the Palestinians.

Here are some of the key ways in which the “Motion on Palestine” was watered down in order to gain Liberal support:

• Palestinian statehood. Originally, the motion pushed to “officially recognize the State of Palestine.” The Liberal change imposed the same drivel that has enabled Israel to violate Palestinian human rights for decades: “work with international partners to pursue the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace […] as part of a negotiated two-state solution”.
• The arms trade with Israel. Originally, the motion demanded a two-way suspension of “all trade in military goods and technology with Israel.” Instead, the Liberal amendment made it just a one-way freeze (only targeting exports, not imports), dependent on the interpretation of Canada’s arms export regime: “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime.”
• Support for UNRWA and UN aid for Palestinian refugees. Both the original and new versions of the Palestine motion call for renewed funding of UNRWA, but the Liberals imposed new language giving a nod to spurious Israeli allegations against the organzation. The new language called for the “implementation of necessary long-term governance reforms and accountabiliy measures.” Nobody mentioned that UNRWA has long been the most audited and scrutinzed UN agency in history.
• Sanctions on genocidal Israeli politicians. Whereas the original motion called to “impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide,” the new Liberal language limited the sanctions only to “extremist [Israeli] settlers.” Minister Joly has already promised to sanction extremist settlers, but has yet to take action.

Apart from the “watering down” changes described above, the motion maintains language which reflects current official Canadian position on Palestine-Israel. Nevertheless, in reality, successive Canadian government’s – the Trudeau government included – have done nothing concretely to advance these policies. These policies include:

• (?) Demanding a ceasefire.
• (?)Ensuring that Canadians trapped in Gaza can reach Canada safely.
• (?) Pushing for an end to Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian land.
• (?) Supporting the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

They say that politics is the “art of the possible,” but CJPME and others are committed to finally making Palestinian liberation and human rights truly “possible.” Thank you to all our supporters who are climbing this mountain shoulder-to-shoulder with us!

Can you help us?

Thank you for supporting our collective efforts in support of this important motion. Every additional voice makes a difference in this work! If you believe in what CJPME is doing to influence the media, politicians and the public, please consider making a gift of financial support to CJPME. Our work depends entirely on private donations. Monthly donations are especially helpful, as they sustain our ongoing work and make it easier for us to strategize for the future. If you don’t like to donate by credit card, you may donate via email transfer at:
DONATE@CJPME.ORG, over the phone (438-380-5410), or at this website:
https://www.cjpme.org/donate_ep?utm_campaign=em_2024_03_19_ndp_motion&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cjpme

Warmest regards,

Tom, Michael, Jason, Lynn, Alex, Fatima, Rose, Wissam, and the rest of the CJPME team

• Abbotsford, BC, “All eyes on Gaza”
• Belleville, ON, “Stand for Palestine”
• Calgary, AB, “Rally for Palestine”
• Corner Brook, NL, “Rally for Palestine”
• Edmonton, AB, “Stop bombing Gaza”
• Kelowna, BC, “All out for Palestine”
• Kitchener, ON, “Walk with Grief: Silent Vigil for Gaza”
• London, ON, “Film Screening –  Rumaan”
• London, ON, “Film Screening – We will be Freer”
• Maple Ridge, “Rally for Peace”
• Montreal, QC, “Flood Montreal for Gaza: Until total Liberation”
• Nanaimo, BC, “Hands off Hospitals”
• Nanaimo, BC, “Vigil for the children of Gaza”
• Ottawa, ON, “Car Rally for Palestine”
• Ottawa, ON, “End the Genocide”
• · Penticton, BC, “Penticton for Palestine”
• Québec, QC, “La Palestine réside dans nos cœurs, libérez nos frères et sœurs”
• Regina, SK, “March for Palestine”
• Saint John, NB, “All out for Palestine”
• Sudbury, ON, “Hands off Rafah”
• Toronto, ON, “Shut it down for Palestine”
• Vancouver, BC, “All out for Palestine”
• Victoria, BC, “End to Genocide in Palestine and Urging for Ceasefire Now”
• Windsor, ON, “Not a Dime for Zionist Crimes”
• Winnipeg, MB, “All out for Palestine”