Montreal, April 9, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging McGill University to reverse its decision to terminate its Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). CJPME believes that this far-reaching decision would not only undermine students’ freedom of speech and assembly, but would also send a chilling message that students can expect severe consequences for advocating for Palestinian human rights and liberation—antithetical to the values of academic freedom and democratic engagement. Continue reading

Montreal, March 28, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is outraged to learn that Canada has approved a contract for the export of artillery propellants to the Israeli military via the United States, despite an explicit commitment from Foreign Affairs Minister Joly that she would stop such transfers. CJPME urges Prime Minister Carney to block this transfer of explosive artillery fuel and finally implement a full two-way arms embargo on Israel without any loopholes. Continue reading

Montreal, March 18, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is celebrating a major victory for media accountability after the National NewsMedia Council (NNC) ruled that the Toronto Sun published inaccurate and misleading claims about pro-Palestinian protesters. CJPME’s Media Accountability Project (MAP) had filed a complaint with the NNC about a column published on October 5, 2024 in which author Brian Lilley had smeared thousands of peaceful protesters as “the equivalent of Nazis” and “terror supporters.” The NCC sided with CJPME in concluding that the Toronto Sun had misrepresented the protests in violation of journalistic standards. Continue reading

Montreal, March 18, 2025 — As Israel renews deadly airstrikes on Gaza, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is once again calling on the Canadian government to cut all ties with the F-35 fighter jet program and implement a full two-way arms embargo on Israel. Two weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu refused to move to Stage 2 of the ceasefire deal and instead cut off the entry of food, medicine and humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of its “Hell Plan.” Overnight, Israel escalated its attacks with a series of airstrikes that killed over 400 Palestinians, including children. CJPME urges Canada to respond to Israeli aggression by closing off the remaining loopholes that allow Canadian weapons – including F-35 components – to reach Israel via the United States. Continue reading

– FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Montreal, March 10, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is encouraging incoming Prime Minister Mark Carney to pivot away from Justin Trudeau’s approach to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and reorient Canadian policy around support for human rights and international law. Although CJPME’s initial assessment of Carney on this issue has not been positive, CJPME believes that Carney has an opportunity to take concrete and immediate steps to end Canada’s complicity in Israeli atrocities and ensure that our foreign policy consistently applies international law everywhere -- whether the United States likes it or not. Continue reading

Montreal, March 6, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) deplores Canada’s half-hearted response to Israel’s cruel decision to abandon the ceasefire deal in Gaza and again use starvation as a weapon against Palestinians. Since the beginning of the staged ceasefire process, Israel has repeatedly violated the agreement by failing to allow tents, motorhomes, and other key materials into Gaza. On March 2nd, Netanyahu refused to move to the next stage of the ceasefire deal and once again blocked the entry of food, medicine and humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is part of a concerted effort – known as Israel’s “Hell Plan” and supported by US President Trump – to starve Palestinians into accepting a new watered-down agreement that does not guarantee Israel’s military withdrawal. Continue reading

Montreal, March 4, 2025 — Liberal leadership candidate Chrystia Freeland has been awarded a failing grade for her dismal record on Palestinian human rights, according to Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME)’s Guide to the Liberal Leadership Candidates. Published today, CJPME’s guide features a comprehensive analysis of where each of the candidates stand on human rights in Palestine based on their voting records, social media, press statements, published interviews, leadership debates, and more. Perceived frontrunner Mark Carney also received poor marks for the lack of information about his views, sharing a grade of “D+” alongside former minister Karina Gould. At the top of the ranking, CJPME awarded Frank Baylis a “B-” as the candidate most likely to drive a positive change in Canada’s foreign policy. Continue reading

Montreal, March 4, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and the Anti-Racism Program of the CJPME Foundation (ARPCF) welcome the release of the Canadian Guide to Understanding & Combatting Islamophobia produced by Amira Elghawaby, Canada’s Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia. Significantly, the guide builds on Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy by recognizing the unique experience of racism and persecution faced by Palestinians in Canada as anti-Palestinian racism (APR). However, CJPME and the ARPCF warn that this groundbreaking work is undermined by Canada’s simultaneous support for the controversial and anti-Palestinian International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, including its IHRA handbook, which unfairly conflates Palestinian perspectives with antisemitism. Continue reading

Montreal, February 27, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling for the immediate resignation of Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, following her repeated attempts to stifle academic freedom and silence critical discussions on Palestine. CJPME condemns Minister Déry’s repeated political interference targeting content about Palestinian literature and the Nakba at Vanier and Dawson colleges, as well as her related “investigation,” which aims to suppress pro-Palestinian expression on those campuses. Continue reading

Montreal, February 25, 2025 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) emphatically demands that Canada urgently impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Israel amid its current military escalation and ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank. Israel ramped up its attacks on the West Bank immediately following the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, and this week deployed tanks for the first time since the early 2000s. Promising to apply lessons from its genocidal war in Gaza, Israel has forcibly expelled over 40,000 Palestinians from refugee camps and announced that they will not be able to return to their homes for at least a year. CJPME believes that Israel’s actions are in preparation for the full annexation of the territory, requiring immediate intervention. Continue reading