Looking for a way to influence your member of Parliament and ministers?  A group of Canadian activists have written up a letter for you to send to influential members of our government in order to pressure Canada in respecting international law and Canadian law. Fraudulent labelling of products that were supposedly "Made in Israel" without regard to the status of the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be called out! Copy and paste the following letter/email and send it out to the mentioned ministers and your member of Parliament!   Continue reading

Niki Ashton has been a long-time supporter of Palestinian human rights, along with many other issues of social and economic justice in Canada and internationally. In May 2017, while she was in Montreal to campaign for the NDP leadership, she had the opportunity to speak at events commemorating the Palestinian Nakba. After attending the rally for Palestinian human rights, Ashton was ferociously attacked by B’nai Brith, a blindly pro-Israel lobby organization. Continue reading

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 21), Parliament will vote on MP Iqra Khalid’s proposed motion M-103.  This motion calls on Parliament to condemn Islamophobia and all forms of systemic racism and religious discrimination.  The motion also calls for studies on how to address the problem of growing Islamophobia in Canada.  Such a motion will help raise awareness and combat racism against Muslims in Canada. Continue reading

Since June, 2003, the Canadian government has refused to grant a license for flights between Montreal and Beirut.  In the meantime, British Airways, Alitalia, Lufthansa, Air France and other airline companies have launched and maintained regular direct flights to the capital of Lebanon.   It is estimated that the number of Lebanese-Canadians in the Montreal area is close to 250,000.  It is believed that the Lebanese-Canadian community is the largest ethnic community which is not served by a direct flight.  Even Denis Coderre asserted that his dream is to have a direct flight Montreal-Beirut.  The only obstacle to airlines establishing this service is the fact that the Canadian government refuses to grant the necessary licenses.  Continue reading

This Thursday, Dec. 1st, a Conservative MPP will propose a motion to the Ontario legislature to condemn the BDS movement.  The BDS movement – standing for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) – pressures Israel economically to respect the human rights of Palestinians.  Such a motion violates our right to free expression, and defames defenders of human rights.     Continue reading

Last week, the Trudeau government announced $25 million in aid to the UN organization for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA.)  UNRWA’s role is to provide education, health care, and other services to the 5 million Palestinian refugees living in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries.  Canada rejoins the US and Europe in donating to UNRWA four years after Harper cut stopped it. Continue reading

The Green Party of Canada has been attacked by the pro-Occupation lobby in Canada over two resolutions proposed for the party’s convention in August. The first resolution expresses support for the “Boycott Israel” movement (BDS), and the second resolution challenges the charitable status in Canada of an organization (the JNF) that participates in Israel’s human rights abuses against Palestinians. The pro-Occupation lobby has gotten hundreds of people to complain to Green Party leader Elizabeth May. Let’s match that, and show the Green Party that Canadians support these resolutions. Continue reading

The struggle for justice and peace in the Middle East is happening at home in Canada as successive Conservative and Liberal governments sustain a $15 billion arms deal for Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) with Saudi Arabia. Early in 2016, the Liberal government granted the required "export permits" for the deal despite the fact that the sale of the LAVs would be in clear violation of both the word and spirit of Canada's export controls.  CJPME and other Canadian human rights groups have highlighted the incompatibilities between the granting of the permits, and Saudi Arabia's appalling record of human rights abuses. Continue reading

The Liberal government is considering re-instating Canada's contributions to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees: UNRWA.  UNRWA’s role is to provide education, health care, and other services to the 5 million Palestinian refugees living in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and other countries. Canada, with the US and Europe was a consistent donor to UNRWA for years, until Harper cut all funding 3-4 years ago.  CJPME has been active in trying to encourage the Liberal government to give generously to this need, through press statements, action alerts, letters signed by a large variety of Canadians organizations, and other means.   Continue reading

On February 22, 2016, the House of Commons passed a motion calling the government “to condemn any and all attempts by Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS [Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions] movement, both here at home and abroad.” Civil liberties groups across Canada condemned the motion, considering it an assault on free expression, whether or not one may agree with the BDS movement itself.     Continue reading