Aug. 6, 2010: Member of Parliament Bill Siksay was the keynote speaker at Winnipeg’s annual Lantern Ceremony, held to commemorate the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. His topic: a private member’s bill before the House of Commons calling for the creation of a federal Department of Peace.

For more information, visit the Campaign to Establish a Canadian Department of Peace.

Bill Siksay, MP (Burnaby-Douglas) will be the keynote speaker at Winnipeg’s annual Lanterns for Peace Ceremony. His topic: a private members Bill (C-447) which calles for the establishment of a federal Deaprtment of Peace.

This bill passed First Reading in the House of Commons, Sept. 30, 2009, moved by Bill Siksay (NDP, Burnaby-Douglas) and seconded by Jim Karygiannis (Liberal, Scarborough-Agincourt ).

You can read the full Bill in English and French, here: Bill C-447

The mandate envisioned for the Minister of Peace is to reinvigorate Canada’s role as a peacekeeper and peacebuilder as follows:

1. Develop early detection and rapid response processes to deal with emerging conflicts and establish systemic responses to post-conflict demobilization, reconciliation and reconstruction
2. Lead internationally to abolish nuclear, biological, chemical weapons, to reduce conventional weapon arsenals and to ban the weaponization of space
3. Implement the UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (1999) to safeguard human rights and enhance the security of persons and their communities
4. Implement UN Resolution 1325 on the key role played by women in the wide spectrum of peacebuilding work
5. Establish a Civilian Peace Service that, with other training organizations, will recruit, train and accredit peace professionals and volunteers to work at home and abroad, as an alternative to armed intervention.
6. Address issues of violence in Canada by promoting nonviolent approaches that encourage community involvement and responsibility such as Restorative Justice, Nonviolent Communication (NVC) and Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR)
7. Support the development of peace education at all levels including post-secondary peace and conflict studies
8. Promote the transition from a war-based to a peace-based economy.

More information of Bill C-447: http://www.departmentofpeace.ca/

Saturday’s Annual Winnipeg Walk for Peace, attended by about 150 people, had a festive air that belied the seriousness of the issues that motivated the marchers. The video will give you a sense of the sights and sounds of this year’s walk. Below is the text of Peace Alliance Winnipeg Chairperson Glenn Michalchuk’s welcome to the marchers.

Welcome to this the 29th Annual Walk for Peace. On behalf of the Peace Alliance Winnipeg I want to thank you all for coming today to show your concern for the issues of peace, freedom and democracy.

I want to thank Winnipeg Haiti Solidarity Group, Eyes on Sudan and the Council of Canadians for their sponsorship of this event and I want to note that Independent Jewish Voices and the Winnipeg Branch of Canadian Palestinian Support Network are here today as well.

Peace, Freedom and Democracy is the theme of this year’s walk. In the 1980s when the Walk for Peace began the issue was the threat posed to the world by the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers. With the collapse of that rivalry and the end of the Cold War there was hope that headway could be made on the issue of realizing the demands for Peace, Freedom and Democracy.

The 1990s and now the first ten years of this century have witnessed new wars and the persistence of historic injustices such as what is taking place with the denial of the rights of the Palestinian people. We have our brothers and sisters here today from the Sudanese community because their country faces the intrigues and interference of foreign powers interested in its natural wealth.

Civil liberties and democratic rights are increasingly being constrained. As we hold our Walk today labour unions and activists in Toronto are preparing for the G20 summit. There they face unprecedented measures to keep the voices of the people away from the leaders of these nations. In the face of this they are organizing a broad popular summit that will discuss alternatives to that which the G20 dictates.

Here in Manitoba the Government has intervened on the question of a school exam because it included a question that referenced the effects of war on children — including the children of Gaza.

Professors at the University of Regina were pilloried in the national media for their questioning of the war in Afghanistan and the militarization of Canadian culture around that war.

Freedom of conscience is necessary for a democratic society and for people to discuss issues and decide on stands that should be taken — whether internationally, nationally or locally. Freedom of conscience is also under attack. Member of Parliament Libby Davies was condemned in Parliament last week for speaking her mind at a demonstration in Vancouver against the Israeli attack on the ships bound for Gaza and calling for an open debate about Canadian policy in the Middle East.

Today is an interesting confluence of struggles and concerns as it should be given our theme. It reflects the on-going activities of people to change the situation and not accept the actions that are being taken against their interests. Thank-you for coming to the Walk.

In for the long haul -
Five years after fleeing to Canada, American war resister Joshua Key is still fighting for refugee status

Marlo Campbell, Uptown Magazine Online, April 15, 2010

Two dozen people gathered outside the Fort Garry Hotel last week to criticize the Conservative government’s proposed reforms to Canada’s refugee system — and one of them had more at stake than most.

Joshua Key is an American war resister seeking asylum in Canada after deserting from the U.S. army.

The noon-hour rally took place as Jason Kenney, Canada’s minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, spoke inside.

Participants were taking aim at Bill C-11, the Balanced Refugee Reform Act, introduced by Kenney on March 30. Some also spoke out out against the minister’s decision to exclude all references to gay rights from the recently revised Canadian citizenship study guide.

The earthquake laid waste to much of the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, including this woman's home in a shanty town on the outskirts of the city. Photo: Associated Press.

By Canada Haiti Action Network, Jan. 14, 2010

Two days ago at 5 p.m. local time, a powerful magnitude-7 earthquake struck in Haiti. It was centred near the capital city Port-au-Prince and has caused massive destruction. The Canada Haiti Action Network urges Canadians and others around the world to contribute generously to emergency relief.

You can contribute to the Haitian Red Cross through its international partners in the International Red Cross. Contributions are tax deductible. The Canadian Red Cross is at http://www.redcross.ca/article.asp?id=33900&tid=001: . We also encourage contributions to the following organizations:

Zanmi Lasante/ Partners in Health

The Zanmi Lasante medical center is located in the Central Plateau of Haiti and delivers health care through a network of clinics in that region of the country. It also trains Haitians as doctors and health professionals. The health center survived the earthquake and is moving to deliver aid to the disaster zone. Donations in the U.S. are tax deductible. To donate, go to: http://www.pih.org/home.html. By mail, send cheque with “Haiti Earthquake Relief” in the memo line to: Partners In Health, P.O. Box 845578, Boston, MA 02284-5578

Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins sans frontières

Doctors Without Borders operates clinics in Port au Prince and surrounding neighbourhoods. It has expertise in disaster relief. Donations in Canada and the U.S. are tax deductible. Go to: http://www.msf.ca/news-media/news/2010/01/haiti-update/

Sawatzky Family Foundation-SOPUDEP School

SOPUDEP is a pioneering school in Petionville with an enrolment of 600 students from elementary to senior high school grades. The school was not in session when the disaster struck; we do not know if the building survived. The resources of the school and its teachers are being mobilized to assist the neighbouring population. The Sawatzky Family Foundation is a registered charity in Canada and issues tax deductible receipts. Go to: http://www.sopudep.org/donate . By mail: The Sawatzky Family Foundation, PO Box 626, 25 Peter Street, North Orillia, Ontario, Canada  L3V 6K5.

Haiti Emergency Relief Fund

In association with the Haiti Action Committee in San Francisco/Bay Area, this fund delivers resources directly to grassroots organizations in Haiti. It was founded following the 2004 coup d’etat that forced the elected president of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, from office and imposed a two-year regime of human rights violations whose consequence continues today. Go to: http://www.haitiaction.net/About/HERF/HERF.html. By mail: Haiti Emergency Relief Fund/EBSCEast Bay Sanctuary Covenant, 2362 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA   94704.

For more information, including telephone contact, go to the website of the Canada Haiti Action Network http://canadahaitiaction.ca/.

On December 27, the Canadian Palestine Support Network, the Peace Alliance Winnipeg and Independent Jewish Voices organized a vigil at the Legislature to mark the one year anniversary of Israel’s murderous assault against the besieged people of Gaza. There were similar vigils and demonstrations around the world and in other Canadian cities to signify solidarity with the Palestinian people. Other actions are occurring in the coming days around the Gaza Freedom March.

About 50 people attended the event at the Legislature which was addressed by representatives of the sponsoring organizations. The vigil opened with a minute of silence. Speakers then documented both the atrocities committed by the Israeli Defence Forces and the complicity of the Canadian Government which failed to take any action to denounce the 22-day attack that left more than 1,400 Palestinians dead. It was pointed out that Gaza today still remains under a blockade and siege that continues to cause untold hardship and suffering for Gazians. The representative of Independent Jewish Voices stressed the importance to oppose the Canadian Government’s support for Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians and the denial of their right to a nation.

Malalai Joya visited Winnipeg on November 16 and 17 as part of her 2009 cross-country tour to convince Canadians to press for the withdrawal of their troops from Afghanistan.

This feisty woman packed the house at the University of Winnipeg and spoke with passion about the oppression of her people under the combined weight of the Taliban, Hamid Karzai’s warlord drugocracy, and the NATO occupation.

Her message was one not heard in this country. Loosely paraphrased, it is: “Go home! You are making our lives harder!” It is a lesson we must all take to heart.

Malalai Joya was hosted locally by Peace Alliance Winnipeg, with support from the following organizations:

• The Uniter (Mouseland Press Speaker Series)
• Public Service Alliance of Canada (Prairie Region)
• University of Manitoba Students Union
• Project Peacemakers
• Global College Student Advisory Council
• Institute for Womens and Gender Studies, University of Winnipeg
• Winnipeg Labour Council
• Global Justice Committee CUPE Manitoba
• Grassroots Women Manitoba

I shot some video for those who couldn’t make it. It features her speech at Convocation Hall at the University of Winnipeg. The total running time is just under 1 hour 16 minutes.

Useful links

• Malalai Joya’s web site
• Peace Alliance Winnipeg
• Canadian Peace Alliance

Source: Originally posted at Paul S. Graham.

Malalai Joya speaking at Convocation Hall, Univeristy of Winnipeg, Nov. 16, 2009. Photo: Glenn Michalchuk

Malalai Joya spoke to a pack house of in Winnipeg last night at the University of Winnipeg. Three hundred people jammed into Convocation Hall to hear the Afghan MP’s passionate denunciation of the occupation of her country by NATO forces. Her contempt for the Taliban, the Karzai government and the warlords who back it was equally fierce.

We’ll post video of the event in the near future.

In the meantime, here is a short clip of from an interview recorded today in which Malalai calls upon Canadian military families to demand an end to Canadian military intervention in her country.

Malalai Joya spoke to packed halls in Victoria (300 people), Vancouver (1000) and Winnipeg (300) and is now on her way east for events in Toronto, York University, Halifax, and Montreal. The tour will culminate in Ottawa where she will address a forum of MP’s about why we need to end the war and bring the troops home.

Also, on November 25th at 2 pm Malalai will be making a special appearance to address the delegates at the Ontario Federation of Labour Convention in Toronto.

Look for Malalai on Canada AM Wednesday morning at 8:40 am and if you are in Toronto you can hear her at 2:30 on CFRB am 1010

Her book has also sold well at all events. You can order books online at the Simon and Schuster website.

Full tour schedule . . .

On Saturday, October 17 Canadian Mennonite University and the Institute for Community Peacebuilding hosted Dr. Norman Finkelstein in an evening of discussion on the topic “Israel and Palestine: What’s Preventing Peace”. The evening was part of its “Conversations with…” series. The tour was sponsored nationally by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East and locally by Peace Alliance Winnipeg, Independent Jewish Voice and CanPalNet.

About 250 people attended and heard Dr. Finkelstein discuss last winter’s attack on Gaza to explain how Israel views the Palestinian people. He argued that the problem rests in a refusal to accept and deal with the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people. He noted that IDF actions of last winter were aimed at destroying the civilian, social and economic infrastructure of Gaza. He also noted how the international community has been quick to support the efforts of Israel to delegitimize the struggle of the Palestinian people thereby giving Israel the “moral” authority to continue in its actions.

He concluded by pointing to the significance of the report of United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict delivered by Justice Richard Goldstone to the Union Nations Human Rights Council. The Council recently adopted the report which concluded that Israel used disproportionate force, deliberately targeted civilians, used Palestinians as human shields and destroyed civilian infrastructure during its attack on Gaza.

After his formal remarks Dr. Finklestein answered questions for more than one hour. The evening showed what he had referred to at the end of his presentation – that public opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is shifting as people become aware of the issues.

Every August 6, citizens in thousands of communities around the world commemorate the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and rededicate themselves to the cause of peace and disarmament. In Winnipeg, a Lanterns for Peace Ceremony is conducted by Peace Alliance Winnipeg, Project Peacemakers and the Manitoba Japanese Canadians Association.