Montreal, August 8, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) seeks to draw attention to Dr. David Kattenburg, a Winnipeg resident who lodged formal complaints with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) earlier this year over the mislabelling of wines produced in Israel’s colonies (aka “settlements”) in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). In his persistent fight to hold the CFIA accountable to their own standards, yesterday Dr. Kattenburg filed to appeal the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)’s decision to allow the continued mislabelling of wines from Israeli colonies.  Continue reading

Montreal, August 2, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has conducted a comprehensive analysis of the Middle East positions of each of the candidates for the NDP leadership race, with Niki Ashton receiving the best score with an A+ rating. Jagmeet Singh was next with an A-, followed by Guy Caron at B+, and Charlie Angus with a B.  In developing this analysis, CJPME used the candidates' responses to a questionnaire issued by CJPME and Independent Jewish Voices Canada (IJV) as well as  quotes and references in the media, comments the NDP leadership debates, comments from parliamentary debate, press statements, the candidates' campaign Websites, and more.  Continue reading

Montreal, July 31, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) demands that the Canadian government immediately review its existing $15 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Over the weekend, news sources published videos and photographs of Canadian-made armoured personnel carriers (APC) being used by the Saudi government to crackdown on Saudi civilian dissidents. The APCs that appear in the video were manufactured by Terradyne Armored Vehicle Inc., a privately owned company in Newmarket, Ontario.  Continue reading

Montreal, July 18, 2017  — Last week, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) issued a press release praising the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) decision to discontinue the importation of wines from Israeli colonies (aka “settlements”) mislabelled as “products of Israel.” CJPME is disappointed to learn that the CFIA has retracted its initial decision.  CJPME disagrees with this latest flip-flop, and believes the government's posture prioritizes Israeli business interests over the consumer protection of Canadians, and the human rights of Palestinians. Continue reading

Montreal, July 13, 2017  — The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has issued a warning concerning the mislabelling of wines from Israeli colonies (aka “settlements”) as products of Israel. CFIA clarified that these grapes are “grown, fermented, processed, blended, and finished in the West Bank occupied territory,” – territories never attributed or recognized as being part of Israel proper. Following the CFIA report, the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO) discontinued the importation of these mislabelled wines, with remaining bottles to be removed from store shelves.  CJPME commends CFIA for its decision to ensure rigor, transparency, and compliance in regards to the labeling of wines coming from the Middle East, specifically the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT.) Continue reading

Montreal, July 13, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) wishes to direct media attention to Dr. David Kattenburg, the Winnipeg resident who initiated the complaint to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) which resulted in a directive to liquor vendors to suspend sales of wines falsely labelled as “Made in Israel.”   Continue reading

Montreal, June 15, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) urges Canada to sign on to Amnesty International’s campaign calling on all countries to refuse to recognize or assist illegal Jewish-only Israeli “settlements” (a.k.a. colonies.) Late last week, Amnesty introduced their “Occupation @ 50” campaign urging governments around the world to ban the import of all goods produced in Israeli colonies. In addition, Amnesty encourages countries like Canada to introduce national legislation to ensure that companies operating in Canada are not involved in Israel’s settlement enterprise or in the trading of settlement goods.  Continue reading

Montreal, May 29, 2017  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates the Bloc Québécois’ visionary proposal calling Canada to recognize an independent Palestine.  In a press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa this morning, the Bloc announced a motion inviting the House of Commons to express support for Palestine as an independent state.  “136 of 193 nations already recognize Palestine as an independent state,” stated Thomas Woodley, President of CJPME, “So it is only natural for Canada to support international law and join the international consensus in support of Palestinian self-determination.”   Continue reading

Montreal, May 26, 2017  — CJPME applauds the Bloc Québécois’ decision to introduce a motion in support of Palestine, as announced publicly this week.  The current leader of the Bloc Québécois, Martine Ouellet, and the former leader and MP for Pointe-de-L’Île, Mr. Mario Beaulieu will be hosting a press conference on Parliament Hill Monday to make the announcement.  Strongly supported by CJPME and other groups advocating for Palestinian human rights, the Bloc’s announcement suggests it is prepared to take a strong stand in support of international law in the Israel-Palestine conflict.   Continue reading

Montreal, March 17, 2017 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) congratulates the students at King’s University College (KUC) in London, ON for their successful vote to boycott and divest from companies involved in the oppressive Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.  While the vote passed with a 75 percent majority, the meeting failed to reach quorum, and the follow-up action on the vote is unclear.  At the meeting, 355 students voted yes to the question, “Do you as a King’s student support calling upon the KUCSC to lobby King’s administration to boycott and divest from any and all companies and products complicit with Israeli occupation based on principles of human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption and change the responsible investment policies to reflect these lobbying efforts?”  Continue reading