Montreal, June 27, 2023 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) welcomes the renewal of Canada’s funding to Palestinian refugees for the next four years, but is disappointed that the latest pledge represents a cut of $5 million annually. CJPME urges Canada to increase its funding to meet the needs of the current humanitarian and human rights crisis, and to complement its financial support with political support for UNRWA and Palestinian refugees on the international stage.

Montreal, August 18, 2022 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has written to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urging immediate action in support of six leading Palestinian NGOs, whose offices in Ramallah were violently raided and shut down by Israeli occupation forces early this morning. Israel outlawed these organizations in October 2021 by falsely designating them as “terrorist” groups, but no credible evidence justifying this designation has ever been brought forward. This morning, Israeli forces raided and damaged the offices of the six organizations, confiscating their property, welding their doors shut, and leaving behind military orders declaring the organizations to be unlawful.

Montreal, August 18, 2022 - Below is a letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mélanie Joly, urging her to take action and condemn Israel's latest attack on six leading Palestinian NGOs, whose offices were raided and shut down early this morning. Click here to download the PDF version. 

Montreal, June 29, 2022- Below is a letter to Bob Rae in response to his article published in the Globe and Mail, “Canada has a choice to make in how it responds to a global refugee crisis." The article spoke on Canada’s responsibilities with the global refugee crisis, however, reflected serious biases against the Palestinian refugees. Click here to download the PDF version. 

Montreal, May 20, 2022 - Below is a letter from CJPME to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly urging Canada to support an independent, international investigation into Israel's killing of journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Click here to download a PDF of the letter.

This position paper discusses Trump’s decree recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, its implications and the role Canada must play in the situation.

March 29, 2018 — Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) applauds the upcoming Parliamentary fact-finding trip to Palestine, and the participation of almost two dozen MPs. The participating MPs will be departing for Palestine on March 30, and most will remain for a week of scheduled activities. CJPME is optimistic that the trip will open be illuminating for the politicians involved, and that they will gain a greater appreciation of the struggles and suffering of the Palestinian people living under Israeli military occupation.

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.”  

Between January 25 and February 2, 2017, EKOS Research Associates conducted a national on-line survey of 1,000 Canadians to explore attitudes toward Israel, Palestine, and related issues here in Canada.  EKOS statistically weighted all the data by age, gender, education and region to ensure the sample’s composition reflects that of the actual population of Canada, based on census data.  The margin of error associated with the sample is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.  The results summarized below are based on respondents who expressed an opinion.   

CJPME Political Blog, Nov. 17, 2016: Until I looked more closely at Governor General David Johnston’s recent trip to the Middle East, I was totally oblivious to the fact that Canada funds programs to help Palestinian women. Long concerned about the plight of women in the Middle East, I was thrilled to learn that Canada funds a CARE International program to increase Palestinian women’s access to the labour force.