Dear Prime Minister Carney
Congratulations on taking on the mantle of leadership of the Liberal Party, and with it, Prime Ministership of Canada, with such a resounding lead.
It's never an easy job and you have taken it up at a particularly difficult time.
Tonight, along with many other Canadians, I am beyond heart-sick at the news that Israel has broken the ceasefire. This is unconscionable. They are already credibly accused of war crimes and genocide and now they can't even keep a peace deal? The leaders of the nations of the world must condemn this decisively and with alacrity. Disregard for international rule of law and flagrant unconcern for human life must not go unremarked upon. Please show us your political courage and moral fortitude by speaking against this human tragedy.
“There’s no accounting for taste.” That’s my dad’s favourite way of explaining personal tastes that are incomprehensible to him, like living downtown, and riding bike in winter. The inexplicable factors which determine an individual’s likes or dislikes are probably the only way I can explain why my favourite nativity scene contains a horribly caricatured black magus, a random adoring child attired – to my fancy – like a Roma person, an old shepherd carrying some sort of blunderbuss. And a haloed holy family with an 18-month-old baby Jesus. This is the "Christmas Manger Set – the Christmas story in beautiful cut-out scenes and life-like figures." See how the 1940s-era family admires the realistic flourishes, like raw wood beams and straw protruding from the edge of the roofline; the rough, broken wood of the stalls; the tasselled camels; the richly dressed magi; the woolly sheep; the Bethlehemites on the path in the background, ostensibly out to get water, judging...
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Dear Prime Minister Carney, Minister Joly, and Member of Parliament,
I am writing to you with grief and deep concern regarding Israel’s most recent attack that has killed over 400 Palestinians and broke the already fragile ceasefire. I am calling on you to immediately condemn this violence and implement an immediate two-way arms embargo against Israel.
Yes, I have written to you on this subject already, but this is so important: we must act! We must reduce our complicity in this wanton and unnecessary genocide.
The UN Human Rights Council and independent UN experts have called on all states to cease the sale and transfer of weapons to Israel immediately, or else risk complicity in war crimes or acts of genocide. I urge you to do everything in your power to secure an immediate, two-way arms embargo on Israel, inclusive of all weapons and military goods.
A year ago, Parliament voted in favour of an arms embargo — it is unacceptable this isn’t completed yet. I am calling on you to:
1. Cancel all remaining weapons export permits to Israel
2. Close the US loophole that allows Canadian-made weapons to travel to Israel via the US
3. Cancel all ongoing and planned purchases of military goods from Israel
Canada must be a voice for international peace and diplomacy. Canada’s strongest leverage is to implement a full arms embargo immediately and demand Israel return to the negotiating table for true, long-lasting peace.
I urge you to act with courage and swiftly.
I write to you today, my elected representative, with immense urgency and deep anguish following Israel's unprovoked and devastating assault on the civilian population of Gaza, which has ended the ceasefire as of Tuesday, March 18, 2025.
More than 450 Palestinians, including over 150 children, were killed in the early hours as they slept amidst the rubble, victims of relentless bombardment. Harrowing images emerging from Gaza show the lifeless bodies of infants, children, women, and men - innocent people deprived of food, water, and electricity for nearly two weeks, many burnt or dismembered beyond recognition. This is genocide in action, confirming beyond any doubt Israel's intentions since October 2023.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, and more than 120,000 injured in Gaza since October 2023. Women and children account for over 70% of the casualties. These numbers, tragically, are conservative compared to estimates by reputable sources like The Lancet, which indicate the actual toll may be more than triple OCHA's figures.
With the ceasefire tragically broken, and with explicit endorsement from a U.S. administration advocating annexation policies for Gaza, Canada, and Greenland, the threat of intensified genocide and forced displacement against the Palestinian people is now gravely clear.
We know an election is upon us here in Canada, possibly as early as this coming weekend. Many politicians will choose silence over courage because it is politically convenient, some will deflect and blame the Palestinian babies, women, and men for simply existing and being alive rather than blame the genocidal Israeli government for their barbarity and cruelty.
I ask you, my elected representative, to speak up. Silence is as, if not more, shameful as siding with the oppressor. Now, your voice is needed more than ever. I am not asking you to only call for access to humanitarian aid, I am asking you to ensure that the Palestinian people can live in dignity where there would be no need for humanitarian aid. I implore you, as my representative, to choose courage and humanity.
As such, I ask you, my elected representative, to:
- Immediately issue a statement condemning Israel’s assault that ended the ceasefire;
- Demand that Minister Joly summon Israel's ambassador to unequivocally condemn these actions and insist on immediate and unhindered humanitarian access and to call for an end to the Israeli genocidal actions;
- Urgently call for immediate and increased Canadian humanitarian support through direct channels such as UNRWA and Islamic Relief;
- Call for targeted sanctions against Israeli leaders implicated in these atrocities, including Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz; and
- Demand the immediate dismantling of the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement.
As constituents, we are watching closely to see who speaks out for justice, who chooses silence, and who sides with oppression.