No Nickel For Genocide Petition Passes Three Thousand Signatures
The No Nickel For Genocide petition was launched by the No Nickel For Genocide Working Group of Palestine Solidarity (Sudbury) on June 12. The petition calls for a ban on the sale of nickel to Israel and to armament manufacturers supplying Israel. Sponsored by Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus, it recorded its 3,000th signature in only 25 days, by July 7. As of July 17, the petition now has 3,397 signatures. It has been signed by people from all 10 provinces, Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
Nickel, described as the perfect war materiel, when alloyed with other metals, greatly increases their strength and resistance to corrosion and the stresses of heat. First used in armour plate at the time of World War I, nickel is now used in a myriad of military applications: jet engines; tanks and armoured vehicles; bomb, artillery and ammunition casings; missiles; drones and warships; as well as in many components of modern instruments of war. The No Nickel For Genocide Working Group believes that about one per cent of Canadian nickel ends up in Israel's instruments of death.
We are demanding Canada ban the sale of nickel to Israel directly or to arms manufacturers supplying Israel as long as they do so. Forty per cent of the nickel used in U.S. manufacturing comes from Canada. This nickel is used to manufacture such weapons as the MX-80 series bombs and the F-16 warplanes that deliver them. Canada has banned the sale of armaments to Israel. Our estimate is that U.S. purchases of Canadian nickel for the manufacture of weaponry destined for Israel total around $50 million per year. This is more than the sale of finished weapons from Canada to Israel. This nickel is used as a raw material in the manufacture of billions of dollars of arms. If we ban the sale of finished weapons to Israel, shouldn't Canada also ban the sale of the raw materials to manufacture those weapons if we want to be effective?
The response of the Canadian people to this petition is very heartening. The Canadian people are showing that they do not want the resources of Canada and the labour of our people to assist the Israeli campaign of genocide in Gaza. They want our land and labour to go towards the development of peaceful uses of nickel that benefit humanity. This petition is providing a concrete way that the Canadian people can stand with Palestine and make a contribution towards stopping the flow of armaments and munitions to Israel.
Since it has received more than 500 signatures, it will be read in Parliament by Angus and the government is obligated to respond within 45 days.
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
- The State of Israel is carrying out a campaign of genocide against the people of Palestine through indiscriminate military actions against the civilian population, killing and maiming more than one hundred thousand people, and destroying the physical and social infrastructure of Gaza;
- Many of the weapons used in this genocide are supplied to the State of Israel by the United States and other NATO Countries;
- Nickel is an important raw material in the manufacture of these armaments;
- Forty per cent of the nickel consumed in U.S. manufacturing originates in Canada;
- The people of Canada do not want the natural resources of this land or the labour of our people contributing to this campaign of terror and mass murder;
- The Government of Canada has banned new contracts for the sale of armaments to Israel; and
- The Government of Canada can enact programs that promote the development of peaceful uses of nickel.
We, the undersigned, Citizens and Residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Institute a ban on the sale of nickel to Israel and to those armament manufacturers that supply Israel; and
2. Require purchasers of Canadian nickel to certify that they will not re-sell Canadian nickel to Israel or to arms manufacturers supplying Israel.
The petition is open until October 10 and can be signed by any Canadian citizen or resident who has reached the age of fourteen by going to the House of Commons website here.
This article was published in
Volume 54
Number 6 - July 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M540065.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca