After urging not to let up, it seemed as though I did just that, but the signatures continued even if the tailored letters did not.
While the horror in Gaza continues apace with brutality and illegality burgeoning in the West Bank also, Canada has found itself a few buddies to give it the courage to take a few baby steps in the right direction. Perhaps Ms Anand, tentative as she may be, has more heart than the glib Ms Joly.
First...
https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2025/05/19/joint-statement-leaders-canada-united-kingdom-and-france-situation
Then...
https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2025/06/joint-statement-by-the-foreign-ministers-of-australia-canada-new-zealand-norway-and-the-united-kingdom-on-measures-targeting-itamar-ben-gvir-and-be.html
...are welcome steps but still so very little in the face of such unfettered brutality.
So, another letter, slightly personalized, but mostly using Canadians for Justice and Peace's template.
Dear recipient's full name will go here,
Thank you for your recent joint statement with the UK and France condemning Israel’s latest military assault on Gaza. Your recognition that the suffering is “intolerable,” and that Israel may be breaching international law by blocking aid and threatening forced displacement, was a welcome — though long overdue — first step.
But words alone are not enough. Canada must urgently follow up this statement with immediate sanctions on Israel.
There is no “if” or “when” in this situation. Israel’s leaders have made it clear they will not heed any warning. The brutality of their actions have only increased in the face of each tentative condemnation from other world leaders. Prime Minister Netanyahu dismissed your statement and vowed to press on toward “total victory.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel’s goal is to “destroy everything that’s left of Gaza” through “conquering, cleansing, and remaining.” Netanyahu praised this as “speaking the truth.” Former Knesset member Moshe Feiglin went even further, declaring on national television that “every baby in Gaza is the enemy” and that not one should be left.
This is not hypothetical. This is genocide unfolding in real time — and your government is still enabling it by continuing Canada’s weapons trade with Israel. Despite your claims of an arms embargo, Canadian-made weapons continue to reach Israeli forces.
Your statement must be followed immediately by action, or it will be dismissed like so many others offered by your predecessor.
We need real sanctions now.
I urge you to fully use Canada’s Special Economic Measures Act to impose a full two-way arms embargo on Israel, sanction Israeli political and settler leaders, and ban business with companies complicit in the illegal occupation.
Spain, France, the UK — even EU institutions — are now shifting course in response to public pressure. Canada must not only avoid being left behind; we must take our place as a peacekeeper and lead in holding Israel accountable for its starvation and destruction of the Palestinian people.
You’ve taken a first step. Now is the time to match it with courage — and consequence.
Sincerely,
your full name will go hereyour email will go here, your location will go here
https://www.cjpme.org/tell_carney_to_sanction_israel
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