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Trans Mountain pipeline to be operational by Canada Day; cost should include RCMP repression of Indigenous resistance to the megaproject

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: On March 19, 2018, Dan Wallace, of the Kwakwaka’wakw First Nation was tackled by RCMP officers at a protest against the Kinder Morgan pipeline in Burnaby on the lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Kwikwetlem peoples. By May 2018, the Canadian government had bought the pipeline.

The CBC reports: “The odyssey of developing and building the Trans Mountain expansion project in Western Canada is finally nearing the finishing line as sections of the pipeline begin filling with oil. The first export shipment will happen before Canada Day [July 1], the federal Crown corporation said, although Alberta’s premier [Danielle Smith] expects it could become operational as soon as May.”

The pipeline

The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) is an 890,000 barrel per day, 1,147-kilometre pipeline that crosses Indigenous territories from Alberta to the British Columbia coast. Almost half the length of the pipeline – 518 kilometres of it – crosses Secwepemc territory in British Columbia without their free, prior and informed consent.

The Canadian government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau bought the existing 300,000 barrel per day Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion in May 2018. It is now estimated that the final cost of the pipeline expansion will be more than $30.9 billion.

RCMP repression of resistance

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Community-Industry Response Group (C-IRG) spent at least $3,535,542.00 on their activities to ensure the pipeline would be completed despite the resistance of Indigenous peoples and allies.

Even before the formation of the C-IRG in 2017, the RCMP was actively stopping Indigenous resistance to the construction of the pipeline.

Photo: In November 2014, Sundance Chief Rueben George looked on as his mother, 71-year-old Tsleil-Waututh Elder Amy George, was arrested for protesting against the Kinder Morgan drill site on Burnaby Mountain.

UN Committee calls on Canada to withdraw RCMP

In December 2019, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on Canada “to immediately cease construction of the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion project and cancel all permits, until free, prior and informed consent is obtained from all the Secwepemc people, following the full and adequate discharge of the duty to consult.” Notably, the UN Committee also called on Canada to withdraw the RCMP from the traditional lands of the Secwepemc and Wet’suwet’en peoples.

UN Special Rapporteur concerned about “militarization of Indigenous lands”

In March 2023, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples José Francisco Calí Tzay visited Canada. In his preliminary findings, he noted:

“During my visit, I was informed that a large number of megaprojects in Indigenous territories proceed without good faith consultation and in the absence of obtaining Indigenous Peoples’ free, prior and informed consent as, in the case of Trans Mountain Pipeline. I am also concerned about the ongoing militarization of Indigenous lands and the criminalization of Indigenous human rights defenders resisting the Trans Mountain and Coastal GasLink pipelines in British Columbia. I urge the Government of Canada to end these violations and to adopt adequate measures to guarantee Indigenous Peoples’ right to consultation and free, prior and informed consent, and their rights to lands, territories and resources.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Mexico to observe protest demanding closure of Cholula Landfill given concerns about air and water pollution

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: “Demonstration. Out landfill! We demand total cancellation and abandonment plan.”

PBI-Mexico has posted on Facebook:

“In the framework of our accompaniment of the Peoples’ Front in Defence of Land and Water – Puebla, Tlaxcala, Morelos, brigadistas of PBI Mexico will be present in San Pedro Cholula as international observers this Thursday, March 21. The FPDTA – PTM will protest against the sanitary filling [landfill or garbage dump] that endangers the aquifer covers and pollutes the area.”

La Jornada de Oriente further explains:

“The Union of Peoples and Subdivisions Against the Cholula Landfill will mobilize tomorrow to protest because despite the fact that there is evidence that the San Pedro intermunicipal landfill contaminates the region, nothing has been done to remedy the situation by the authorities.

The organizers have called for 10 a.m. on Thursday to hold a protest against the confinement, which is located just 300 meters from the Casas Garza housing complex and 600 meters from the Polytechnic University of Puebla (UPP).

In San Pedro Cholula, Puebla, a conflict has erupted over the region’s landfill, triggering tensions between municipal authorities and affected residents.

The main point of contention centers on the expansion of the solid waste landfill, a proposal that has generated resistance and protests from local residents and environmental groups. It is argued by the villages that the expansion of the landfill could have significant negative impacts on the natural environment and the quality of life of nearby inhabitants.

Among the concerns raised by opponents of expansion are increased air and water pollution, as well as the potential risk of diseases associated with waste accumulation. In addition, it is pointed out that the expansion of the landfill could involve the expropriation of land and negatively affect the biodiversity of the area.

On the other hand, the authorities defend the need to expand the landfill to respond to the growing generation of waste in the region and ensure proper waste management. They argue that the existing infrastructure is not sufficient to cope with current and future solid waste disposal demands.

Environmental engineers who participated in a forum held at the Polytechnic University of Puebla on March 4 said that the San Pedro Cholula landfill violates federal restrictions and puts the health of thousands of residents at risk, because it was built near a populated area and on groundwater.

During her presentation, Erika Ramos, an environmental engineer, stressed that the landfill is violating the restrictions on the matter established by federal laws.

For her part, Nayeli Carreón Carmona, a specialist in sanitary landfills, said that at first glance the Cholula landfill does not comply with environmental standards, so it represents a ‘time bomb’ for the region.”

A previous article in La Jornada de Oriente also highlights:

“It should be noted that according to public information gathered by those affected, the landfill located between the limits of Calpan, Huejotzingo, Juan C. Bonilla and San Pedro Cholula began operations in 2006 and had a useful life of eight years.

It had a projected capacity to receive 200 tons of garbage per day that would only come from San Pedro Cholula, however it currently receives waste from 22 municipalities and the states of Mexico and Oaxaca.

Since 2019 there have been attempts to close; However, it currently receives up to 350 tons and its ‘useful life’ has been extended until 2026.”

And this article in Imagen Poblana specifically focuses on the opposition of Indigenous peoples to this garbage dump/landfill now operated by the company Pro Faj Hidro Limpieza S.A. de C. V.

We will be following this today.

Further reading: “Although this landfill is projected for, it seems to me 30 years, it has already exceeded its capacity and puts the aquifers of the Cholulteca area at risk.” – Juan Carlos Flores

Video: “#Puebla Activists from Movimiento 8 de Febrero and the Comité en Defensa del Agua Cholulteca denounce water looting in the municipality of #SanPedroCholula and the creation of a sanitary landfill that -they say- affects the health of the inhabitants.”

 

PBI-Colombia expresses its indignation over the murder of two members of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó

By
Brent Patterson
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UPDATE (March 22): “From our Peace Community we accompany our brothers and companions murdering by the criminal hands of the paramilitaries, clearly tolerated by the institutions. Goodbye Nallely and Edinson. They will forever be in our memory.”

—

PBI-Colombia has posted: “We express our deep pain, rejection and indignation at the murder of Nallely and Edinson, two beloved people of the @cdpsanjose [the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó] with whom we shared in solidarity only days before.”

This follows the Peace Community posting: “Nallely Sepúlveda, wife and child Edinson David, brother of the humanitarian coordinator of our Peace Community, were massacred with gunshots in the village of La Esperanza, while he was caring for his father in the Apartadó hospital.”

The bodies of the wife and brother of the coordinator were found on the Las Delicias farm, which is part of the Peace Community, in the village of La Esperanza, in the municipality of Apartadó, Antioquia.

El Tiempo further explains: “An absolute sadness overwhelms the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó today after learning of the murder of two of its members, a woman of approximately 30 years old and her brother-in-law, 14 years old.”

That article adds: “A spokesperson for the community reported that the woman was the mother of three children and was married to a humanitarian coordinator of that community, who at the time of the crime was in Apartadó accompanying her father in a medical emergency.”

El Pais notes: “The first hypothesis suggests that the crime could be linked to an attack perpetrated by an armed group. However, the possibility that this is an act of accomplishment or revenge is also being investigated. Preliminarily, upon inspection of the bodies, wounds caused by a sharp weapon were observed.”

That said, El Heraldo reports: “The woman and the child were killed with firearms, apparently by members of a criminal group from which the Community has reported threats.”

Infobae adds: “The region where this crime was perpetrated is mainly operated by the paramilitary Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as Clan del Golfo, the country’s largest criminal gang.”

The Peace Community

For Peace Presence explains: “In the middle of the 1990s, as violence escalated and peasant farmers suffered from extrajudicial deaths at the hands of armed actors as well as forced displacements, the people began to organize themselves in order to return to their land and to escape from the spiral of violence.”

It adds: “Conscientiously objecting to the war and demanding their rights as civilians not to be involved in a conflict, the community denounced the use of arms within their territories and committed to a variety of principles in the process (including cooperative communal work, prohibition of alcohol, the non-use of illicit drugs, the no-entry of armed actors, non-use of weapons and the refusal to provide information to armed actors).”

Accompaniment

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó since 1999.

Tweet: President Gustavo Petro comments on the double-killing in the Peace Community: “400 members of the Peace community of San José de Apartadó [have been] murdered. Two days ago, the entire government was there in Apartadó and we met with members of the community at the Popular Assembly. Upon our return, two more members of the community were murdered. Dark forces want to revive paramilitarism in the northwest of the country.”

Canada helps 50+ countries access Elbit’s “battle-tested” weapons at CANSEC arms show in Ottawa

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Elbit Systems at CANSEC in 2019. On May 29-30 they will be at Booth 1421/M10 in the EY Centre in Ottawa.

The Guardian reports: “Canada will halt future arms sales to Israel following a non-binding vote in the house of commons. The foreign affairs minister, Mélanie Joly, told the Toronto Star her government would halt future arms shipments. ‘It is a real thing,’ she said on Tuesday [March 19]. …Canada previously said that while it had paused issuing military export permits to Israel, it was still assessing applications on ‘on a case-by-case basis’.”

Reuters also reports: “Canada has not approved new arms exports permits to Israel since Jan. 8 and this freeze will continue until Ottawa can ensure the weapons are used properly, Joly said on Thursday [March 20]. Export permits that were approved before Jan. 8 remain in effect, she said in an emailed statement.”

Those permits are still in effect because, according to NDP MP Heather McPherson, “[Joly] didn’t want the liability of cancelling arms contracts.”

The motion passed by the House of Commons on the evening of Monday March 18, calls on the government to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”

The motion that passed 204-118 can be read in full here.

Video: Joly rises in the House of Commons to vote in favour of the motion.

What we do know about sales/purchases

Canada exported $21,329,783.93 of “military goods” to Israel in 2022 and the Trudeau government authorized $28.5 million of new exports in October-December 2023. We also know that in December 2023 (and confirmed in March 2024) that Canada plans to buy $43 million of Spike LR2 missiles manufactured and sold by Israeli state-owned arms dealer Rafael Advanced Defense Systems.

It also appears from media reports that Canada has delayed the approval of the sale of about 30 armoured vehicles made by Brampton, Ontario-based Roshel and other “military goods”, including night-vision goggles, since mid-January 2024.

We should also know more about the overall 2023 total when Global Affairs Canada tables its next annual report on the export of “military goods” by May 31 (a legal requirement since September 2019).

World Beyond War analysis of what needs to be done.

CANSEC, May 29-30

While Joly says “it is a real thing” that Canada will halt future arms shipments to Israel, there are questions and concerns about the upcoming CANSEC arms show (on Wednesday May 29 and Thursday May 30 at the EY Centre in Ottawa) organized by the Global Affairs Canada-funded Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).

Is the Israeli Ministry of Defence at CANSEC?

The list of exhibitors for CANSEC “Israel representatives” (Booth M7).

Tweet from Israel’s then-Ambassador to Canada referencing the International Defense Cooperation Directorate of the Israel Ministry of Defense (SIBAT).

Elbit’s “battle-tested” weapons marketed at CANSEC

The list of CANSEC exhibitors also still includes Elbit Systems Ltd. (Booth 1421/M10).

As the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability have highlighted: “Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems is one of the primary suppliers of weapons and surveillance systems to the Israeli military, including Skylark and Hermes military UAV drones, which form the majority of Israel’s fleet of large drones and have been used extensively in Gaza.”

Elbit has been criticized for advertising their weapons as “battle-tested” or “field-tested”.

Image by Visualizing Palestine.

Weapons companies at CANSEC

Among the 330 or so exhibitors at CANSEC this year, there will also be BAE Systems, Bell Textron, Boeing, Colt, Elbit, General Dynamics, L3 Harris, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Rheinmetall. The AFSC Action Center has noted that these same companies are profiting from Israel’s 2023-2024 attacks on Gaza.

Canada facilitates arms sales at CANSEC

CADSI continues to note that “50+ international delegations” will be present at CANSEC.

The CANSEC website also highlights for those international delegations: “Each year, the Government of Canada and CADSI work together to engage a diverse global community at CANSEC. Contact your Canadian in-country trade commissioner to learn how you can attend the event in partnership with the Government of Canada, as well as any rules and regulations that may apply.”

CANSEC further notes that 74% of the 12,000 attendees “have purchasing power”.

This suggests that Canada could be involved in platforming Elbit’s “battle-tested” weapons to international customers, a move contrary to the calls from numerous international human rights organizations for a two-way arms embargo.

Canada at CANSEC

CADSI also promotes the strong presence of the Government of Canada at CANSEC in its “prospectus” for international delegations.

While Minister Joly may now not intend to approve the future sale of more arms to Israel, it does seem contradictory for the Government of Canada to fund, “work together” and actively participate (even at the Ministerial-level) in an arms show that could include the Israeli Ministry of Defence, the top weapons companies selling weapons to Israel, and that enables/helps to facilitate the sale of Elbit weapons to 50+ countries.

We continue to follow this.

Further reading from The Breach.

PBI-Honduras visits OFRANEH in Vallecito where the Garifuna have reclaimed their ancestral lands

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Honduras has posted on Facebook:

“Last week we visited OFRANEH-Garifuna/Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras and the community of Vallecito. The Garifuna people have waged a peaceful struggle to reclaim these ancestral lands that had fallen into the hands of drug trafficking.

Currently, Vallecito is a recovered territory, under the control and sovereignty of the Garifuna people, which offers an alternative to life and food sovereignty, but which is still in dispute for its geostrategic position for the passage of illicit substances.

From PBI we observe with concern the threats, harassment and use of violence against the community.”

The Garífuna are people of Indigenous Arawak and Black African ancestry; they speak Garífuna and Vincentian Creole.

In November 2023, the Human Rights and Business Award Foundation explained:

“Early morning on September 19, 2023, at least four unknown and heavily armed men reportedly entered the community of Vallecito, Colón, and surrounded the house of Miriam Miranda.

Members of Miriam’s security team demanded that the strangers identify themselves, but they fled the scene. The strangers were heard to say that next time they would come to ‘finish the deal’.

On 21 September the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Honduras issued a statement expressing its concern about the risk faced by Miriam, and the lack of review of the Honduran government’s protection measures for her, particularly after the past threats she had received.

Photo: Miriam Miranda, General Coordinator of OFRANEH.

The OHCHR noted that the Honduran government’s Technical Committee of the Protection Mechanism had failed to hold its session scheduled for 20 September to review Miranda’s protection plan because three of the four Honduran governmental authorities/agencies that make up that committee did not attend.

The OHCHR called on the Government of Honduras to strengthen its commitment and its measures to protect human rights defenders at risk. In a statement issued on 20 September condemning the attack on Miriam, the Honduras Solidarity Network of North America said: ‘For many years, the list of attacks on Miriam has grown to be quite extensive, while the list of those punished for such attacks is non-existent.’

The statement called for: an end to impunity – bringing to justice all perpetrators of attacks on Garifuna human rights defenders; Miriam to be provided with additional forms of protection; the Honduran state to implement Inter-American Court of Human Rights rulings calling for an end to violations of Garifuna land rights and cultural rights, and restoration of stolen lands.

OFRANEH reports that all the above violations and threats are due to the process of illegal occupation of Garífuna territories by third parties that operate with the support of the Honduran state.”

That article also notes: “In Vallecito, Colón, OFRANEH has organized the largest food sovereignty program in Honduras. More than 100 hectares of coconut have been planted to provide food for Garífuna communities. The program includes a facility for producing coconut oil and derivatives.”

Canadian financing

We also take particular note of Miriam’s comment: “We’re under threat from gated retirement communities with U.S. and Canadian financing, as well as mining and hydroelectric projects, including projects with development bank financing.”

In this regard, the article highlights: “Much Garífuna communal land has been acquired by real estate companies, particularly Canadian firms. In 2007 Randy Jorgensen’s development company Life Vision Properties began acquiring land outside Trujillo to develop a cruise ship terminal and gated retirement home properties for North Americans.”

We continue to follow this.

PBI-Colombia accompanied CAJAR lawyers’ collective welcomes Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruling on systemic persecution

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Yessika Hoyos and Danilo Rueda in Bogota yesterday.

PBI-Colombia has posted on Twitter: “After years of systematic persecution and complaints, the @CorteIDH condemns the Colombian State in a historic sentence. We applaud the courage and commitment of all the members of @Ccajar and we deeply regret all the violence against them.”

El Pais further explains: “The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) on Monday condemned Colombia for the persecution since the 1990s of the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR), an organization that denounced human rights violations committed by state agents.”

“The tribunal of the Organization of American States (OAS) has established that several state entities carried out intelligence activities against the members of CAJAR and delivered that information to paramilitary groups that then threatened the human rights defenders. ‘The State created a situation of risk to the life and personal integrity of the victims,’ the court said.”

“Reinaldo Villalba points out that the collective has evidenced the abuses of the State in several cases. ‘We showed that paramilitarism was a strategy of the state to impose political and economic models and to hide its direct responsibility for massacres, forced displacements, murders and other serious human rights violations,’ he stresses.”

“Villalba sees the ruling as ‘a tool that will extend its effects to the entire continent.’ ‘The persecution of human rights defenders is a widespread issue in Latin America. The national security doctrines [of the 1960s and 1970s] have established that those who denounce the crimes of power are internal enemies,’ he says.”

The article also highlights: “Currently, threats persist that remain unpunished: the current president of the collective, Yessika Hoyos, received several in recent years for her work with victims of the Mondoñedo massacre (1996).

The full article can be read at: La Corte Interamericana condena a Colombia por la persecución al Colectivo de Abogados José Alvear Restrepo (El Pais).

The full 397-page court ruling has been published by El Espectador here.

The Peace Brigades International-Colombia Project has accompanied the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective (CAJAR) since 1995.

#ParaQueNoSeRepita

Photo: On July 5, 2022, PBI-Canada met with CAJAR lawyer Rosa Maria Mateus at the CAJAR office in Bogota.

First Nations Land Defence Alliance opposes proposed nuclear waste dump, Ring of Fire mining in Ontario

By
Brent Patterson
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Photo: Land Defence Alliance march, September 27, 2023.

The CBC reports: “By the end of this year, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is expected to decide on its preferred site for the country’s first deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel.”

It adds: “The potential locations are: The Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation-Ignace area, about 250 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay; The Saugeen Ojibway Nation-South Bruce area in southern Ontario, about 130 kilometres northwest of London.”

The article then notes:

“We the Nuclear Free North and the First Nations Land Defence Alliance … remain concerned about what’s known as the Revell site in northwestern Ontario. The alliance issued a letter to NWMO president and CEO Laurie Swami on March 5, saying: ‘Our Nations have not been consulted, we have not given our consent, and we stand together in saying ‘no’ to the proposed nuclear waste storage site near Ignace. We call on you to respect our decision.’

Chief Rudy Turtle of Grassy Narrows First Nation, 250 kilometres northwest of Ignace, said no one from the NWMO has met with him in person to discuss the proposed nuclear waste site. Grassy Narrows has a particular interest in which Ontario site is chose, given the First Nation’s experiences dealing with contaminated fish in the 1960s and ’70s. Mercury from a Dryden pulp and paper mill was dumped into the English Wabigoon River, upstream from the First Nation. Research indicates past mercury exposure continues to impact the health of people in the community.

In the case of a nuclear waste repository, Turtle said, ‘Should there be any leak or if the containment fails, there is the possibility that [toxic chemicals] can leak downriver again.’ Turtle would like to see a series of in-person meetings so people can better understand the safety measures being proposed and the potential risks.

[And] Chief Michele Solomon of Fort William First Nation said it is unlikely her community’s position against the site will change. Band council passed a resolution last September calling for the Ontario government to adopt the proximity principle, which means nuclear waste would be stored at the point of generation and not transported elsewhere. ‘Anything that has the potential to get into our waterway that would cause harm to the fish or to the animals or to our people … we take that very seriously,’ Solomon said.”

Another proposed site on Indigenous land

In mid-February, the CBC also reported:

“Algonquin leaders are finding the Canadian government largely unmoved, but they continue to fight construction of a radioactive waste dump on unceded territory near Deep River, Ont., roughly one kilometre from the Ottawa River.

Ten out of 11 federally recognized Algonquin First Nations oppose the project, while the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn, roughly 150 kilometres northwest of Ottawa, is the lone community to consent.

‘The time to act is now, for the sake of our environment, our communities and the principles enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,’ said Lance Haymond, chief of Kebaowek First Nation, at a news conference outside the House of Commons.”

Alliance also opposes Ring of Fire mining

In November 2021, CBC reported: “Premier Doug Ford’s government [wants] to lure the big automakers to produce electric vehicles in southern Ontario. A key part of that strategy involves opening up the so-called Ring of Fire mineral deposit, located more than 500 kilometres north of Thunder Bay in an area home to Indigenous people.” The area is rich in the minerals used in electric vehicle batteries and energy storage systems, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel, graphite and copper.

Late last year, The Varsity reported: “Over 6,000 people protested against the Ontario government’s policies allowing companies to mine on some First Nations’ traditional lands as part of the March for the Land, which took place in Toronto on September 27.”

It highlights: “The First Nations Land Defence Alliance, created to fight against government intrusion on their land, organized the protest.”

The Ojibwe nation of Neskantaga, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI-Big Trout Lake), Ojibways of Onigaming, Muskrat Dam, Asubpeeschoseewagong-Grassy Narrows and Wapekeka First Nations, are part of First Nations Land Defence Alliance.

The Alliance was formed in January 2023.

#LandAlliance

Will the House of Commons vote on arms exports to Israel have implications for Elbit Systems at the CANSEC arms show?

By
Brent Patterson
-

Video still: Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly rises to vote in favour of the motion to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel”.

Last night, the House of Commons voted 204-118 in favour of a motion that includes a provision on the export of arms to Israel.

The original wording of the motion from NDP Member of Parliament (MP) Heather McPherson was: “suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”

MP Heather McPherson

Liberal MP Steven MacKinnon successfully moved to replace that paragraph with these words instead: “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas.”

MP Steven MacKinnon

By clicking here and scrolling down you can see how MPs voted on this motion. For instance, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and National Defence Minister Bill Blair voted in favour of it.

Capitulation and disappointment

The CBC reports: “The amended motion calls for ceasing the further transfer of arms to Israel (instead of asking to suspend all sales of military equipment to Israel) and increasing efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas. The amendments were tabled with the support of the NDP after several discussions behind the scenes.”

The Maple news editor Alex Cosh is pointedly critical in his tweet: “The Trudeau gov has repeatedly claimed it hasn’t authorized permits for ‘arms’, which it arbitrarily distinguishes from other military exports. This language changes nothing on military exports.” Cosh adds: “This is a disgraceful capitulation [by the NDP].”

Instagram post by Palsolidaritycad.

And Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) comment: “The watering down of the NDP resolution weakens the significance of Parliament’s vote, even if it was a major concession forced by the Liberal government to ensure its passage.”

Clear policy promised

While disappointed, the CJPME does note: “With the passage of this motion, the government has effectively promised to adopt a clear policy to restrict exports, including for already-issued permits, not just a temporary pause on approvals. While imperfect, this is a tangible victory on the road to a Canadian two-way arms embargo with Israel.”

Implications for CANSEC

If the Canadian government has now, as the CJPME says, “effectively promised to adopt a clear policy to restrict exports”, what implications might this have on its funding of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) and its organizing of the annual CANSEC arms show in Ottawa?

CADSI (whose membership includes Elbit Systems, the largest Israeli weapons manufacturer) organizes CANSEC that includes as exhibitors Israel representatives, Elbit, the Canadian Commercial Corporation (that helps to facilitate weapons exports), many of the biggest transnational corporations (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Leonardo, L3Harris) that sell weapons to Israel, and will most likely feature Defence Minister Blair as a keynote speaker this coming May 29-30.

Defence Minister Bill Blair

Image: The Government of Canada at CANSEC.

Global Affairs Canada has also given $450,352.00 to CADSI over the past two years and appears willing to fund it again in 2024.

Elbit Systems

Let’s now look at the Haifa, Israel-based arms company Elbit Systems.

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Action Center for Corporate Accountability has noted:

“Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, Elbit Systems is one of the primary suppliers of weapons and surveillance systems to the Israeli military, including Skylark and Hermes military UAV drones, which form the majority of Israel’s fleet of large drones and have been used extensively in Gaza.

Elbit-made MPR 500 multi-purpose bombs are being used by Israel in its attacks on the Gaza Strip. Designed for use in “densely populated urban warfare,” these bombs contain 26,000 controlled fragments for “high kill probability.” Elbit says that these 500-pound bombs are as powerful as U.S.-made 2,000-pound MK-84 bombs. They can be converted into guided bombs using kits such as the Boeing (see above) Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM).

Elbit Systems’ killer Hermes 450 and 900 drones have been used extensively in attacks on and surveillance missions in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, and Lebanon.

Elbit’s Head-Mounted Display helmet technology is integrated into the Israeli Air Force’s fighter jets and helicopters as well as the military’s Merkava 5 (Barak) battle tank. The company is also a subcontractor of Lockheed Martin; it integrates its helmet technology into F-35 fighter jets worldwide.

It also supplies the Israeli military with 155mm artillery shells and many other weapons systems and technologies.
Elbit Systems spearheaded the technological aspects of the “smart” border wall surrounding the Gaza Strip, which failed on Oct. 7. It is also a prime contractor for the militarization of the U.S.– Mexico border.

On Oct. 13, the Israeli military fired 120mm tank rounds at journalists in south Lebanon, killing Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and injuring six others in what could amount to a war crime. The munitions used were most likely M339 rounds made by Elbit Systems, according to Amnesty International.“

Image: CANSEC floorplan.

Chilean government bars Elbit from arms show

What are possible implications were the Canadian government to take the motion passed last night seriously? For that we look to Chile.

The Chilean government recently barred Israeli weapons companies from the upcoming International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE). This prohibition includes Elbit Systems, the largest Israeli military manufacturer that produces 85% of its land-based equipment and 85% of the drones used by the Israeli Air Force.

The announcement notes: “By decision of the Government of Chile, the 2024 version of the International Air and Space Fair (FIDAE), to be held between 9 and 14 April, will not have the participation of Israeli companies.”

We will continue to follow this.

World Beyond War tweets on the vote.

For more about the organizing to challenge CANSEC this year, please see this World Beyond War Canada webpage.

TODAY: Canadian House of Commons to vote on a ceasefire and an arms embargo on the Israeli military

By
Brent Patterson
-

With thousands of emails generated and public opinion solidly on side with a ceasefire, how will Members of Parliament vote today?

This motion will be voted on today (Monday March 18 at around 4 pm ET). It calls on the Government of Canada to demand an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages; suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas; and more.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) has generated 31,132 emails in support of this motion.

Leadnow has generated another 11,754 actions.

And Climate for Palestine has generated 11,844 emails.

We also now see that a Neighbours United for Palestine petition on the Action Network has generated 41,927 letters.

Angus Reid poll

Last month, polling by the Angus Reid Institute found that: “Half (49%) of Canadians now want a full and lasting cessation of the conflict, while one-in-six (17%) believe if a ceasefire is called it should only be temporary. Approaching one-in-five (18%) believe no ceasefire should be called at this time. In November, Canadians leaned towards believing the ceasefire should be temporary (35%) rather than permanent (30%).”

41% of Canadians believe Israel committing genocide

Angus Reid polling also shows that “a plurality of Canadians (41%) believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, while one-in-three (32%) disagree.”

We will be watching the vote today.

Peace Brigades International has called for an immediate ceasefire, for Israel to implement the provisional order of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza, and for the international community to call for a suspension of the supply of arms to Israel and the armed groups involved in the conflict.

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PBI-Colombia accompanies Justice and Peace as the Naya River Community Council holds 12th Memories Festival

By
Brent Patterson
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PBI-Colombia has posted on Instagram: “Yesterday, March 16, @justiciapazcolombia [Commission of Justice and Peace] and the Naya Community Council organized the event ‘Transforming Memories and Walking Towards Peace’. PBI has witnessed the work of building peace and collective memory that is done from the territories.”

Justice and Peace has also posted on Twitter: “The 12th Memories Festival ‘Transforming memories and walking towards Peace’ advances in the Naya River basin. With Music and mysticism, traveling through the past to project the path with the proposal of creating the great social and popular movement for Peace.”

Less than 18 months ago, Justice and Peace had also highlighted the serious circumstances in the region: “The humanitarian crisis suffered by the ancestral territory of the Black Community of Río Naya, after the signing of the 2016 peace agreement, has left 4 fishermen missing in the last 2 months, threatened community leaders and the generalized fear is aggravated by the incursion of a group of armed men and women, in which a 14-year-old boy was killed and apparently other people were detained.”

In May 2018, Witness for Peace explained: “Puerto Merizalde [is] the most populated place on the Naya River, near the Pacific coast of Colombia. The immediate crisis was the apparent enforced disappearance of three local leaders in April, followed by displacement due to threats from a community of more than 50 people and the kidnapping of a fourth leader who had tried to find out what had happened to his three colleagues. All at the hands of unidentified armed men, who also threatened the wife of one of the missing men. The Naya River Community Council, the self-governing body of 64 Afro-Colombian communities in the river basin, called the assembly to demand answers and actions.”

Their article continues: “The area has been caught in the crossfire of Colombia’s armed conflicts for decades. In 2001, a paramilitary massacre ushered in an era of forced displacement, as many people fled to the city of Buenaventura, the largest in the region. Consequently, in early 2002, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted precautionary measures to the communities of Río Naya.”

In December 2018, Daniela Chinchilla of Semana’s regional team also commented: “The Naya River is the gateway to the Pacific and, therefore, the gateway to any place in the world. Its control has been disputed by armed groups for decades because this is one of the drug corridors on the continent. To seal their stranglehold on him, the AUC committed the 2001 massacre. It’s been 17 years, but the conflict has never left the area. It is true that the threat of the FARC no longer exists, but since the state has not occupied the territories abandoned by them, they were left at the mercy of other armed groups.”

Their article concluded: “This region is shouting to the whole country that it does not want more war, no more illegal crops, no more assassinated leaders. And that it needs the help of the state and the attention of all Colombians in order to be reborn. But Colombia doesn’t listen. It doesn’t see. The government doesn’t show up for appointments. Thus, it is impossible to understand the Pacific, to appreciate the richness hidden in its people, its rivers and its jungle.”

PBI-Colombia has accompanied the Inter-Church Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP) since 1994.

Further reading: Resist in the waters of the Naya (PBI-Colombia, May 21, 2018).

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