Militant Opposition to Visit of NATO Secretary General to Canada
Ottawa, June 19
On June 19, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a visit to the U.S. and then Canada in preparation for the NATO Summit in Washington from July 9 to 11.
Quebeckers
and Canadians, as they have for all of NATO's existence, militantly
opposed the warmongering alliance and the visit of its Secretary
General. A militant picket was held in front of the Prime Minister's
Office on June 19, firmly stating that Stoltenberg is persona
non grata and that to attain peace and security both at home
and on the world scale, NATO must be dismantled. The picket was called
by Youth for Democratic Renewal, with the participation of various
anti-war activists and organizations from the National Capital Region.
Protests were also held in Calgary and Edmonton.
Many
people walking or driving by the Prime Minister's Office took note,
expressing approval and support. Stoltenberg's visit was a somewhat
hush-hush affair, yet what U.S./NATO is up to at this time deserves to
be highlighted and brought to everyone's attention, whether it be its
role in prolonging the conflict in Ukraine, advocating direct NATO
involvement in attacks on Russian territory; its support of Zionist
Israel and its ongoing genocide in Gaza; its constant calls to increase
military funding to feed the war industry at the expense of the social
sectors; or its ongoing war exercises throughout the world.
During his visit, Stoltenberg met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was the guest of honour at a reception hosted by the NATO Association of Canada and the NATO Parliamentary Association, and did an interview on CTV's Question Period.
At the reception he received the Louis St-Laurent Award of
Excellence, the highest award given by the Canadian Bar Association
(CBA) "to a CBA member in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding
service and professional achievement to the benefit of the legal
profession, the CBA and society at large." St-Laurent was Prime
Minister from 1948 to 1957. It was under his aegis that Canada became a
founding member of NATO on April 30, 1949 when St-Laurent signed
Canada's Instrument of Accession. Thus on this basis, the ruling
circles who are desperate to prop up NATO and its warmongering,
conferred this award on Stoltenberg, who is not a lawyer, a
Canadian, or a member of the CBA nor does he speak on behalf of any Quebeckers or
Canadians.
In his speech at the reception, Stoltenberg saw fit to opine on Canada's role in NATO and reinforce the NATO edict for increased military spending of its members, matters in which working people in Canada and Quebec are blocked from having a say. He praised Canada's role in NATO warmongering directed at Russia, in particular its leadership of the NATO battlegroup in Latvia. He outlined the importance of Canada's financial and training support for Ukraine, adding that Canada has provided "billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine including air defence systems, battle tanks and F-16 pilot training." He underscored that strong support to Ukraine will be "the most urgent" priority for the upcoming Washington Summit.
Stoltenberg added that he welcomed Canada's announcement of increased military spending but urged Canada to join with the 23 other NATO member countries who have committed two per cent of their GDP to the military. Increased funding "will add billions in the coming years, including by purchasing high-end new capabilities, modernizing NORAD, and by investing in fifth generation F-35 aircraft."
Stoltenberg
said that he expected all NATO members to meet the two per cent
"guideline," adding that as a former parliamentarian and prime minister
he knows "it is always easier to spend money on health, education,
infrastructure and many other important tasks than to invest more in
defence" but that in the context of the threats confronting the
Alliance it was necessary to step up and "prioritize defence
investments."
For the ruling circles in Canada to invite such a
figure to Canada to openly dictate the direction of its economy, while
at the same time permit the international secret intelligence agencies
to clamour about supposed foreign interference in Canada's affairs and
enact laws according to their say-so would be laughable and a cruel
irony, except for the serious danger posed by having Canada further
drawn into NATO warmongering and the U.S. war machine.
Calgary, June 19
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 40 - July 8, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54406.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca