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No more loopholes again

Another letter calling for Canada to close the loopholes. This time, it’s Greenpeace getting in on the action. Mostly them, a little bit of me:

Dear Prime Minister Mark Carney/ Minister Anita Anand,

Although a ceasefire has been called, Israeli forces continue their assault on Palestinians while they are trying to rebuild from the ruins. What kind of ceasefire is that? Not surprising, though, from a government that lies frequently and fails to keep their side of the bargain.

Ninety-two percent of human beings in Palestine have no home to return to; hundreds of bodies are still being pulled from the rubble; and 85,000 children have been orphaned.

Let that sink in. Imagine your own children or grandchildren with no bed to sleep, no parents to comfort them, or worse, dead under a pile of rubble. 

Prime Minister Carney, “peace” in name alone is not enough.

Furthermore, the violence will not end with this ceasefire even if it is ever observed by Israel.

Canada has a *legal* and *moral* responsibility to help end the ongoing genocide. People across the country are *demanding* a stop to the atrocities happening to Palestinians. You have the power to take concrete action to pressure Israel to end its genocidal assault. You must act now to impose a full two-way arms embargo on Israel. 

Minister Anand, each year, Canada exports over a billion dollars’ worth of military goods to the USA – the vast majority without permits, regulation, or tracking of their final destination. These exports are integrated into hundreds of weapons systems including warships, drones, fighter jets, artillery, and missiles. Many of these weapons are then sent on to Israel. The F-35 bomber jets, Apache attack helicopters, and Elbit drones used by Israel in the genocide are made with Canadian technology and are full of Canadian parts. Enough!

Canada must immediately require all military goods exported to the US include an end user certificate prohibiting any transfer to Israel. We want no part of the USA's bloody wars. They DO NOT lead to Canadian security. 

The government’s actions fall far short of a transparent two-way arms embargo on Israel–the minimum needed to lessen Canada’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing violence against Palestinians.

We call on you to enact a full arms embargo on Israel.

This must include:

  1. Cancelling all remaining active weapons export permits to Israel 
  2. Blocking all weapons exports to Israel through the US
  3. Cancelling all ongoing and planned purchases of military goods from Israel

Every MP has the opportunity to take action by voting in favour of Bill C-233, the No More Loopholes Act, introduced by MP Jenny Kwan to close existing gaps in Canada's arms export laws.

We need to act now to end Canada’s complicity in Israel’s ongoing war crimes and show Israel’s government that there are consequences for its actions. Israel must be sanctioned for its crimes against humanity. Peace alone is not enough. The siege must be lifted and the occupation needs to end. Only then can we imagine true liberation for Palestine.

Sign and send your own letter, with or without personalization here

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