Over the past year, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have protested Israel’s brutality in Palestine, while millions more have pressured our politicians through email campaigns. In parallel, CJPME lobbyists have been pounding the pavement on Parliament Hill to galvanize our politicians to action. Below, we highlight some of our accomplishments as a result of this crucial behind-the-scenes work.
If you like what you see in the highlights below, please consider donating to support our work. Amid a genocide, it can be hard to maintain optimism or see meaningful progress. But it’s our duty to persist, and the CJPME team will continue to pressure our elected officials to force an end to the bloodshed.
Promoting Palestinian Statehood
CJPME was invited last week to speak to Parliament’s Foreign Affairs committee to make a case for why Canada should immediately recognize Palestinian statehood. The invitation to testify was itself a symbol of CJPME’s growing presence and import on The Hill, but CJPME has been active on the “Palestine Statehood” file for years. CJPME’s ongoing work on this issue is reflected in the fact that Canada recently updated its policy position to be more open to recognizing Palestine, and is reportedly discussing the issue with allies. For the past few years, following tons of pressure from CJPME and its allies, Canada also started to vote in support of the annual UN resolution on Palestinian self-determination. So this file is moving, and there could be a significant change soon if we continue to put pressure on the government.
And just to be clear, CJPME emphasized in its testimony to the committee that recognition alone will not end Israel’s repressive and illegal occupation of Palestine. Canadian trade and diplomatic sanctions against Israel are still clearly needed to advance Palestinian self-determination.
Broad expansion of lobbying
In September of last year, just before the outbreak of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, CJPME significantly expanded its lobbying activities, including the hire of Alex Paterson, our Senior Director, Strategy and Parliamentary Affairs. This lobbying focus, as well as joint campaigns alongside like-minded organizations, has enabled CJPME to have a much bigger impact on Parliament Hill and make strides in several important policy areas, from the arms trade to anti-Palestinian racism.
CJPME is the only registered lobby organization in Ottawa that focuses its efforts full-time on Palestinian rights. Between October 2023 and September 2024, CJPME had 84 one-on-one meetings or calls with politicians from the Liberals, NDP, Green, and Bloc Quebecois, as well as political staff and civil servants. This was an increase of 280% over the previous year. CJPME’s increased presence on the Hill can be felt in the way that many politicians have adopted our talking points, messaging, and policy proposals, especially around the arms embargo. The relationship-building of the past year has been significant, and CJPME is consulted frequently on our issues by key Parliamentary staffers and offices.
Fighting Anti-Palestinian Racism
Through meetings with the office of Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion, and Person with Disabilities, as well as MPs of various parties, CJPME had been pushing to get anti-Palestinian racism (APR) recognized within the renewal of Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy (CARS). Although this push was initially not successful, we did get Palestinians to be mentioned in CARS as a specific group that faces racism. More recently, we were able to push the government to hold consultations on APR, and Trudeau has reportedly committed to adopting a definition of APR. These efforts built on a number of important reports and analyses that CJPME has issued over the past year. These are huge steps forward when the whole concept of “anti-Palestinian racism” was virtually unknown barely two years ago.
Opposing Canada’s Arms Trade with Israel
Since the earliest days of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, CJPME played a leading role in coordinating and mobilizing civil society to oppose the Canada-Israel arms trade, directing advocacy efforts towards calling for an arms embargo on weapon shipments to Israel. Together with our partners, CJPME has been able to secure an announced end to the government authorizing new permits for weapons transfers to Israel, and Parliament voted on March 18th for an end to weapons transfers. In August, CJPME joined with partners to demand that Canada stop a deal for Quebec-made mortars to be sent to the Israeli military via the United States, and Minister Joly later announced that they would be stopping the deal. Major loopholes in Canada’s policy continue to exist, but calls continue to grow for a two-way arms embargo through the Special Economic Measures Act. CJPME continues to be a steering committee member of Arms Embargo Now, which is holding an ‘F-35 Day of Action’ on Saturday Nov. 15.
Standing up for UNRWA and Humanitarian Aid to Palestinians
One of the major challenges this year was when Canada decided to suspend funding to UNRWA, the UN aid agency for Palestine refugees, following unsubstantiated claims from the Israeli government. This was an example of Canada bowing to the transparent lies of pro-Israel groups, while risking the lives of Palestinians who already face Israel’s mass starvation policies. CJPME and partners put significant heat on the government, and Minister Hussen eventually reversed his position 5 weeks later, resuming funding to UNRWA. Unfortunately, following Israel’s most recent attempts to crush UNRWA, which pose an existential threat to the agency going forward, Canada has been muted in its criticism of Israel. But CJPME continues to try to advocate for the agency and the needs and rights of Palestinian refugees in discussions with officials.
Gaza visa program
For over a year, CJPME has been calling for measures to aid Palestinians in Gaza with connections to Gaza. CJPME was immediately skeptical when the government finally unveiled its special Gaza Visa Program last December-January. Since then, CJPME has worked closely with partners and representatives of Gaza families to bring attention to the racist double standards in the program. CJPME’s report, “Intended to Fail,” has been referenced in Parliament and is having a major impact. Since the launch of the program Canada has increased the 1000-person limit and introduced a financial aid package, but the program continues to be a fiasco and failure. CJPME continues to mobilize on this issue with ongoing initiatives, including a joint Day of Action on Nov. 19 alongside Gazan families.
Maintaining Canadian pressure against Israel’s illegal “settlements”
In conjunction with legal experts, CJPME was proud to publish a powerful policy paper arguing for a “whole-of-government” response to Israeli war crimes, making recommendations with impacts across a dozen different Canadian ministries. In support of this ground-breaking work, CJPME met repeatedly with politicians and officials to advocate for changes in the way that Canada engages with Israel, and its colonial settlement enterprise. While Minister Joly did eventually impose three rounds of sanctions on some settler individuals and organizations, these sanctions fell far short of the changes needed, and failed to directly target the Israeli government itself. Nevertheless, this file is one that carries enormous legal weight, especially in light of the recent Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, and CJPME will continue to pressure Canada to live up to its international and legal obligations.
Can you support our work?
CJPME's ability to influence Parliament is only possible through the generosity of private donors. We have full-time staffpeople dedicated to this issue. If you believe in this work, please consider making a gift of financial support to CJPME. 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, over the phone (438-380-5410), or complete and mail in this form.