Montreal, June 30, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is urging Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau to use his trip to the Middle East this week to press Israel on the impending mass expulsions of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan. Garneau will be visiting Israel and the occupied West Bank within the next few days to “advance Canada’s support towards the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region and a 2-state solution.” CJPME notes that Garneau’s visit will take place as 175 Palestinian families in the occupied East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan are under threat of being expelled from their homes to be replaced with Israeli settlers.

Montreal, March 24, 2021  — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is encouraging all Members of Parliament to vote today for Private Member’s Bill C-231, “An Act to amend the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act (investments),” which is currently at the second reading stage. If C-231 were to be adopted, CJPME expects that these new rules guiding investment would empower Canada’s Pension Plan to withhold investments from companies operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), which are contrary to international law and violate Palestinian human rights.

Montreal, June 16, 2020  — As Canada’s candidacy for a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) comes to a vote tomorrow, a new survey conducted by EKOS Research Associates reveals that Canadians want more from their government on foreign policy. The survey found that three out of four Canadians want their government to oppose Israel’s annexation of large parts of the West Bank, while almost half support the use of sanctions. It further shows that Canadians support increasing international contributions in several specific areas where Canada lags behind its competitors, including peacekeeping, combatting climate change, and support for Palestinian human rights.

To be sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the other leaders of Canada's political parties:

Yesterday, the Trump administration reversed decades of longstanding American foreign policy by suggesting that Israeli colonies are legal. This is offensive, wrong, and will cost Palestinians their fundamental freedoms and right to self-determination.

We as Canadians need to express our strongest opposition.

To the Government of Canada:

WHEREAS Trump's decree ignores international law and decades of UN resolutions, 

WHEREAS Trump's decree undermines all Middle East peace efforts and jeopardizes Palestinian self-determination,

WHEREAS official Canadian foreign policy recognizes Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention,

THEREFORE, we, the undersigned petition you to immediately reject Trump's decree and condemn Israel's ongoing colonial ambitions in Palestinian territory!:

To be sent to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the other leaders of Canada's political parties:

Yesterday, the Trump administration reversed decades of longstanding American foreign policy by suggesting that Israeli colonies are legal. This is offensive, wrong, and will cost Palestinians their fundamental freedoms and right to self-determination.

We as Canadians need to express our strongest opposition.

To the Government of Canada:

WHEREAS Trump's decree ignores international law and decades of UN resolutions, 

WHEREAS Trump's decree undermines all Middle East peace efforts and jeopardizes Palestinian self-determination,

WHEREAS official Canadian foreign policy recognizes Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention,

THEREFORE, we, the undersigned petition you to immediately reject Trump's decree and condemn Israel's ongoing colonial ambitions in Palestinian territory!

Click-here to sign the petition !

There is no yardstick by which we can compare suffering or horror, but Scott Reid’s attempt in M-153 to suggest strong associations among several violent incidents from Canadian history falls short. This position paper discusses how M-153 is a blatant attempt to downplay the problem of Islamophobia in Canada.

Montreal, February 4^th, 2019 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) rejects Quebec Premier François Legault’s remarks last week, in which he effectively denied the existence of Islamophobia in Quebec. Last Thursday, in response to questions from reporters about designating January 29^th as a national day against Islamophobia, Legault stated: “I don’t think there is Islamophobia in Quebec, so I don’t see why there would be a day devoted to Islamophobia.” CJPME points out that there is no empirical support for Legault’s comments and calls on Legault’s government to take concrete measures to combat the growing problem of Islamophobia in the province. 

June 6, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is disappointed by the Conservatives’ attempt to divide and mislead with today’s opposition motion to condemn Hamas.  The motion makes a number of assertions about the current Gaza situation and Hamas which don’t stand up to scrutiny.  The statement also ignores the broader context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, one where Israel is the belligerent occupier of Palestinian territory.  CJPME believes the motion is intended to score cheap political points in Canada on the backs of dispossessed and oppressed Palestinians. 

In late 2017, EKOS Research Associates conducted a national survey of Canadians to probe for religious discrimination, particularly Islamophobia, in Canadian society. The EKOS survey is accurate within 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  (All survey data is available at http://cjpme.org/islamophobia)  Two months later, on February 1, 2018, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage released its M-103 report on religious discrimination in Canada.  The recommendations below synthesize the recommendations of the M-103 report with the survey findings released in parallel. 

February 27, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) stands opposed to Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer’s promise to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital if elected in 2019. Over the weekend, the Conservative Party website encouraged Canadians to sign up if they agree with Scheer that “Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.” CJPME laments the Scheer’s disregard for international law and indifference to Israel’s human rights violations.