No. 34

September 7, 2025

August Photo Review

Calls for Arms Embargo and to End Canada's Support for Genocide Ring Out Loud and Clear

In August, the demonstrations, protests, seminars and community events in support of the Palestinian people in their battle to end the occupation, end the genocide and restore the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and right of return, carried on steadfastly, advancing the urgent need to end the horrific crimes carried out by the U.S. and Israel. The actions continue to be inspired by the just cause and heroism of the Palestinian people and their resistance, and the people's own aspirations that Canada play a genuine role for peace in the world.

Following the release of the report at the end of July detailing Canada's ongoing military aid to Israel, people across the country took action to hold the government to account, as well as stepping up mass actions to inform the public about Canada's unacceptable support for the U.S./Israeli genocide. In Toronto, for example, neighbourhood mobilizations at subway stops took place, and activists have also been going door to door in their communities to speak to people directly to break through the disinformation of the monopoly media about the complicity of the Canadian state in the genocide.

Nearly two years after the genocide began, not only are weekly actions on Saturday and Sunday the norm in more and more cities across the country, but weekly weekday pickets at MPs' offices are again underway in many places. People are outraged with outright government lies claiming it has stopped arms shipments to Israel when there is evidence to the contrary. Their actions are holding their MPs and the Carney government to account.

Weekly neighbourhood meet-ups are another way in which people are coming together to share their experience and concerns.

In various cities where there are Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada offices, weekly Wednesday actions are underway to demand that Canada open its doors to Palestinians fleeing the genocide. This includes the family members of Canadian citizens and residents, along with students who have been accepted at post-secondary institutions but have not been permitted to leave occupied Palestine.

The wanton killing of Palestinian journalists by Israel also spurred emergency actions in August. The people condemned Israel's organized campaign to kill the courageous journalists whose reports inform the world of the heroism of the Palestinian people and Israel's criminality. These actions also condemned the callous indifference of the CBC and other news media to their colleagues in Palestine, and their role to spread disinformation to justify Israel's crimes and cover up Canada's role in the genocide which is taking place.

Actions Accross Canada

St. John's

August 13

Quebec City

Repentigny

On Friday, August 22, nearly 400 people gathered in Repentigny at the main entrance of General Dynamics' ammunition factory, a U.S. company. The arms factory is located in the Quebec riding of l'Assomption, represented by Quebec Premier François Legault.

The Quebec subsidiary of General Dynamics has a contract to manufacture 50,000 mortar shells for Israel, part of a total of U.S.$20 billion in arms exports to Israel that the U.S. government approved in August 2024. Thanks in part to the Defence Development Sharing Agreement (1960) and the Defence Production Sharing Agreement (1956), Canada can export military equipment produced in Canada to the U.S. without the need for an export licence, even if the final destination is another country, namely Israel.

Most rally participants came from the greater Montreal area by bus and car, while others were part of a bicycle caravan. Some came from as far away as Ottawa to join in to demand a total embargo on arms shipments to the Zionist state.

For more than four hours, they chanted slogans, also occupying the median strip of the wide boulevard where many cars and trucks circulate. Motorists honked their horns in support of the action, including truck drivers who regularly use this same road.

A representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement gave the main speech, greeting all those present and paying tribute to the Palestinians in Gaza who are suffering from a mass famine orchestrated by the Zionist entity. She particularly praised the journalists who have been documenting the situation for 22 months, despite the fact that more than 250 of them have been killed by the Israeli army. She also paid tribute to the doctors who continue their work to treat the wounded despite their own precarious situation, and "to our front-line fighters who have taught the whole world what it means to be honourable, what it means to fight and sacrifice for liberation."

She quoted from a report presented a few days earlier in Ottawa that revealed several shipments of weapons from Canadian facilities to Israel. These include one made nine days after the former Minister of Global Affairs Canada and now Minister of Economy under the Carney government, Mélanie Joly, publicly promised to prevent the export of ammunition to Israel. Participants also learned that another shipment had left the General Dynamics facility the day before the rally.

She went on to accuse Canadian officials of lying to the public about stopping arms deliveries while continuing to supply them. "Canada is not only complicit in this genocide, it is also a perpetrator," she said.

The speaker also criticized Canada's position that it will recognize the Palestinian people's sovereignty only if they abandon resistance.

Dr. Sarah Lalonde, who volunteered her medical services at the European Gaza Hospital from January to February 2024, spoke about how Canada has supplied more than 420,000 bullets to Israel, causing numerous civilian casualties. She also pointed out that Canada manufactures approximately $2.1 million worth of components for F-35 fighter jets, making the country an essential link in the supply chain for Israeli fighter jets used to kill people in Gaza.

Dr. Lalonde strongly criticized Canadian politicians, saying they "have shown neither moral clarity nor integrity" when they "lied to Canadians." She insisted that Palestinians deserve the same basic rights as everyone else: access to health care, food, security, water, and education. Dr. Lalonde pointed out that, as part of her regular work in northern Quebec, she works with Indigenous Peoples who have been victimized by Canada's genocidal policies against them, highlighting the similarities between the Canadian government's domestic and international policies. She called for an arms embargo on Israel and unfettered access for humanitarian aid into Gaza.

August 22

Sherbrooke

On August 6, more than 350 people marched through Sherbrooke in support of the Palestinian people's struggle. The action began in front of the office of Member of Parliament, Élisabeth Brière -- the deputy government whip and former Minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency and Veterans Affairs -- and ended in front of Sherbrooke City Hall.

The protesters demanded a meeting with MP Brière regarding the supply of arms to Israel; denounced the candidacy of a Zionist in the upcoming municipal elections; called for an end to the Zionist occupation of the Palestinian territories and free access for aid to Gaza; and condemned Canada's complicity in the Zionist genocide in Gaza.

On August 22, 2025, a demonstration was held in Sherbrooke to oppose arms being manufactured for Israel by General Dynamics, mirroring the one held at the General Dynamics plant in Repentigny that same day. It took place directly in front of the General Dynamics offices on Galt Street in Sherbrooke.

On the Solidarity Sherbrooke-Gaza in Palestine Facebook page, the organizers wrote: "Our demand is clear: “Two-way embargo on arms trade with Israel now. We refuse to allow our country to weaponize genocide. We will not stop saying it, we will not wait, and we will not back down."

August 6

August 22

Montreal

At the weekly action on August 9 in Montreal, a Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) representative announced that the Israeli Security Cabinet has approved Netanyahu's plan to invade and occupy the city of Gaza. She said: "The fascist Zionist entity has been trying to occupy Gaza for over 22 months, but did they succeed? They have been trying to force the Palestinian people to surrender, but did they succeed? The people of Gaza have endured mass bombing, displacement, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and now a man-made famine imposed on them." She denounced the role of the Canadian government to support the U.S./Israeli crimes against the Palestinians.

She pointed out, "Today, cities across the world are taking to the streets to show support for the hundreds of flotillas that will sail from across the world! to Gaza to break the siege. So we are here to say that we will not rest until the siege is broken, until the genocide stops, until the mass displacement stops, until every single inch of Palestine is free."

A representative of Quebec Physicians Against the Genocide in Gaza spoke about the need to counter the narrative that the Israeli forces are looking for terrorists embedded as journalists, physicians and health workers, as a means to justify their murder. Amongst other issues, he recalled that the notion of anti-Semitism is a product of Zionist ideology brought forward by the European Zionist movement who organized the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland with the help of terrorist organizations, and the full complicity of Anglo-American powers.

In front of the Israeli consulate, a PYM representative called on protesters to organize in their neighbourhoods, contact their members of parliament, and participate in email campaigns to obtain answers about Canadian arms exports to Israel, which continue despite denials by the Canadian ministers responsible for the economy and global affairs. In particular, they called for a large mobilization on August 22 in front of the ammunition factory owned by the U.S. company General Dynamics in Repentigny, in the riding of Quebec Premier François Legault.

On the evening of August 11, hundreds rallied in front of the Montreal headquarters of the CBC, to denounce the murder by Israeli forces of Palestinian journalists the day before in Gaza. Anas al-Sharif, Mohammed Qreiqeh, Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa were killed in their tent near the al-Shifa hospital. Israel has killed more than 270 journalists and media workers in the past two years.

August 3

August 9

August 11

August 31

Ottawa

People of conscience in the Ottawa and Outaouais regions rallied at the Human Rights Monument on Friday, August 1, on the 664th day of the genocide in Gaza. Before the march through downtown Ottawa, a Palestinian Youth Movement organizer spoke to people gathered at the Monument. Referring to recent statements by the Canadian Prime Minister and the minister of Foreign Affairs, she said:

"Whether it's Carney's empty condemnations, [Foreign] Minister Anand's obscure language or, before them, Trudeau's Freudian slips about ceasefires, these statements serve only to institutionalize and whitewash the Palestinian fight for liberation. Behind these empty words are real, tangible actions that oppose them."

Referring to the damning report on Canada's arming of Israel, she said, "Canada has lied and continues to lie to us. Now, this government speaks of a 'red line,' when Canada has exported nearly $79 million worth of high-tech equipment to the Zionist entity.

"How dare they speak of Palestinian Statehood when over 400,000 bullets have been exported to Israel since the assault in Gaza began? How dare they speak of 'justice,' when there are $2 million worth of Canadian components in each F-35 aircraft? How dare they speak of 'dignity for all' when over a hundred international flights transporting weapons have been made in the last 19 months alone, more than half of which were carried on civilian flights. From Calgary to Montreal, Ottawa to Toronto, Halifax to Vancouver, our cities are cogs in the machinery of death."

Recalling the words of Lebanese Resistance fighter Georges Abdallah, recently released from a French prison after 41 years of detainment, she ended by saying: "The condition of freedom is rallying around the Resistance. The condition of freedom is rallying around Gaza. The condition of freedom is rallying around the martyrs of the Resistance. Long live the Resistance! Long live Gaza! Long live Palestine!"

From August 5 to 8, pickets were held in front of the Israeli Embassy, demanding an end to Israel's starvation campaign against Gaza. Banging on pots and shouting slogans to that effect, the picket drew the attention of passers-by who took up slogans such as Free, Free Palestine as they made their way through the downtown area, as did those passing in cars, as they honked their horn and expressed their support in various ways.

On August 12, people of the Ottawa and Outaouais regions held an emergency demonstration at the Human Rights Monument to condemn the execution of an entire Al-Jazeera news crew by Israel. The will and final message of one of the journalists, Anas al-Sharif was solemnly read. It reads, in part:

"God knows I gave all I had strength and effort to be a support and a voice for my people, ever since I opened my eyes to life in the alleys of Jabaliya refugee camp. My hope was to live long enough to return with my family and loved ones to our original town, Asqalan (al-Majdal), now under occupation. But God's will came first, and His decree is final.

"I have lived pain in all its details and tasted loss many times. Yet I never stopped telling the truth as it is, without falsification or distortion so that God may bear witness over those who stayed silent, accepted our killing, and did nothing to stop the massacre our people have endured for more than a year and a half.

"I entrust you with Palestine the jewel of the Muslim crown and the heartbeat of every free person in this world. I entrust you with its people and children, whose pure bodies have been crushed under Israeli bombs and missiles.

"Do not let chains silence you or borders restrain you. Be bridges toward the liberation of the land and its people, until the sun of dignity and freedom rises over our stolen homeland."

On August 15, hundreds of people converged on Parliament Hill to call for an Arms Embargo Now! and to hold political leaders accountable for aiding and supporting the ongoing Israeli genocide in Gaza.

On August 22, people marched in the streets of downtown Ottawa as they have been doing relentlessly for close to two years. Marchers stopped at various intersections where speakers explained the situation to people on the sidewalks and on terraces in the Byward Market and invited them to join the demonstration.

Prior to the march, at the Human Rights Monument, a PYM spokesperson said, in part: "Right now, we are watching the invasion of Gaza City, one of the most densely populated areas in all of Gaza, where thousands of displaced Palestinians have gone to find shelter after the Occupation already bombed their homes, ordered their evacuation and murdered their friends, families, and neighbours.

"The Zionist entity has voted to annex the West Bank, proclaiming to the world their plan to build 3,000 settlements. This would effectively cut off the West Bank from Jerusalem and expel and displace thousands of Palestinians."

August 1

August 8

August 15

August 22

Toronto

On August 5, a press conference was held in downtown Toronto as a follow-up to the release of the damning report, Exposing Canadian Military Exports to Israel. It reveals, in black and white, the continuous illegal arming of the U.S.-backed Zionist regime in Israel by the Canadian government, despite their constant denials.

Four speakers addressed the press conference: Yara Shoufani of the Palestinian Youth Movement; lawyers James Yap and Diana Buttu; and businessman Mohamad Fakih, all of whom are involved in this work to hold the Carney government to account for its actions in support of a genocide against the Palestinian people.

Yara Shoufani spoke of the shameless response given by Defence Minister Anita Anand in response to the report, saying, "The minister offered only a brief statement on social media. We condemn this response for its failure to provide the public with a shred of counterevidence, a commitment to transparency, or a plan for meaningful action."

"In her response, Minister Anand has not denied that Canadian weapons continue to be shipped to Israel, and that is because she can't. The evidence is conclusive," Shoufani stated.

Lawyer James Yap explained that he is representing a group of Palestinian and Canadian NGOs who are challenging, in Federal Court, the Canadian government's continuing exports to Israel. They are calling out these actions as contributing to war crimes and violations of international and Canadian law.

Palestinian-Canadian lawyer Diana Buttu explained in detail how the Canadian government has been in violation of international treaties on genocide by its loyal support for the Zionist regime, that is carrying out a genocide with impunity with the support of the U.S. and its allies, including Canada.

Mohamad Fakih revealed that a report issued by Canada's Library of Parliament on 2024 financial activity also exposes the government's false claims. It clearly shows Canada's sizeable arms shipments to Israel throughout the year.

On the afternoon of August 16, thousands of demonstrators filled the streets of downtown Toronto in answer to the call by PYM for a Mass Rally for Gaza: Arms Embargo Now! In this particular action, demonstrators condemned the recent targeted assassinations of five Gaza journalists.

A spokesperson for Canadian Journalists for Justice in Palestine (CJJP) condemned western media for abandoning journalists in Gaza and leaving them to be the only voices representing the truth on the ground in Palestine. They denounced the media in Canada which has actively disinformed the Canadian people for the last two years about the U.S./Zionist genocide, while giving every opportunity to U.S.-backed Israeli war criminals to justify their crimes and acts of brutal impunity. This barrage of deliberate disinformation led numerous Canadian journalists to found the CJJP.

The speaker pointed out that the Canadian monopoly media doesn't even have the dignity or humanity to defend the lives or security of members of their own profession let alone the people of Gaza. This is why we often hear the slogan: Every Time the Media Lies, Another Child in Gaza Dies!

August 5

August 16

Mississauga

On August 1, thousands gathered in Mississauga near the Civic Centre to continue to condemn the U.S./Israeli genocide and siege on the people of Gaza, at an action organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement. People gathered with their flags and, before the action got under way, banging pots and pans to highlight the campaign of starvation that U.S./Israel are imposing on the people of Gaza.