Opposition Organized to Ottawa CANSEC
Weapons
Fair
War Profiteers Not Welcome in Canada! Make Canada a Zone for Peace!
- Nick Lin -
The annual CANSEC weapons fair is being held in Ottawa
May 29 and 30. Anti-war activists are holding a protest during the
opening speech by Minister of Defence Harjit Sajjan on May 29. This is
an opportunity for everyone to oppose the arms trade, war production,
the militarization of life and Canada's integration with U.S. war
production and wars of aggression and regime change. This "weapons
fair" glorifies war and Canada's role in the global arms trade and its
own massive increases in military spending in response to U.S. pressure
for NATO members to do so.
Working people are
confronted with all-sided
pressure to
submit to Canada's integration into the U.S. war machine, and the
militarization of life that comes with it. Within this
scenario, weapons fairs are presented as just another business
convention, rather than the unacceptable convergence of war
profiteers, seeking profit from the destruction of the natural
and social environment, in support of U.S. imperialist aims. It
must not pass!
To underscore Canada's role in appeasing and supporting
U.S.
imperialist aggression worldwide, one need look no further than a
2017 report tabled in Parliament, which blithely declares that
because Canada is so integrated into the U.S. war machine, it is
of no interest to inform Canadians of the extent of arms sales to
the U.S.:
"Global Affairs Canada does not collect data on most
military
exports to the United States. Canada and the U.S. have had a
Defence Production Sharing Agreement in place since the 1950s,
which has helped create an integrated North American
technological and industrial base and supported Canada-U.S.
trade. As a result, most military items shipped between Canada
and the U.S. do not require permits and are therefore not
included in the data presented in this report."
Manufacturing Yes! Nation-Wrecking No!
In Canada, the slogan of nation-building has been taken
up with the demand that manufacturing benefit the people, not the rich.
It is not acceptable to have the government and its foreign affairs
department, as well as military personnel, act as brokers and
intermediaries for arms manufacturers operating in Canada, so that they
can sell their wares abroad including to regimes such as that of Saudi
Arabia waging a genocidal war against Yemen. It is working people the
world over who suffer the consequences of Canada's destructive role in
the global arms trade.
Protest in Saint John, NB, December 22, 2018,
against Canada's
multi-billion dollar sale of armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia for
use in its war against Yemen. The vehicles are produced in London,
ON.
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The website of the Department of National Defence (DND)
lists
various forms of government support for arms exporters. "Learn how
the Department of National Defence can assist in connecting
Canadian industry to foreign markets," explains one section.
Another notes: "Learn how the Department of National Defence
keeps Canadian companies informed of business opportunities at
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)."
Based in 30 diplomatic posts around the world (with
cross-accreditation to many neighbouring countries), Canadian
Defence Attachés promote military exports. According to DND's
website, Defence Attachés assist "Canadian defence manufacturers
in understanding and accessing foreign defence markets [...]
facilitate Canadian industry access to relevant officials within
the Ministries of Defence of accredited countries [...] support
Canadian industry at key defence industry events in accredited
countries [...] raise awareness in accredited countries of
Canadian defence industrial capabilities [...] provide reports on
accredited country defence budget information, items of interest,
and trade issues to Canadian industry."
DND representatives often promote Canadian military
equipment
as part of delegations to international arms fairs, such as the
UK's Defence Security and Equipment International exhibition. In
February,
representatives of DND helped 50 Canadian arms companies flog
their wares at the Abu Dhabi-based International Defence
Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), the largest arms fair in the
Middle East, according to a FrontLine Defence story titled
"Representing Canada in the UAE IDEX."
Working people should reject arms production in Canada
and
work to have an economy that serves the needs of Canadians, not the
warmongers. It fundamentally requires taking up the work for
democratic renewal, to break the stranglehold of the cartel
parties on political power, so that Canadians can exercise
control over the direction of the economy.
No! to the
global arms trade and Canada's participation in it!
Nothing Is More Destructive to the Natural and Social
Environment than War
Great concern is being expressed by all sectors,
especially the youth, about the state of the natural environment
and its effect on human society and the entire planet earth. It
is said to be one of the most pressing issues facing humanity at
this time.
Faced with such a
situation, it is more important than ever to emphasize the tremendous
pollution and outright destruction caused by war, and that the planet's
biggest polluter is the worldwide U.S. war machine, which includes the
activities of countries like Canada that are appeasers of U.S.
imperialism. The U.S. military is one of the world's largest greenhouse
gas emitters. U.S. bases around the globe have resulted in 19 million
hectares of land being heavily contaminated with materials that include
depleted uranium, oil, jet fuel, pesticides, defoliants such as Agent
Orange, and lead. Canadian bases are also contaminated and the U.S.
routinely refuses to decontaminate the bases it leaves behind. The U.S.
military is said to produce more hazardous waste than the five largest
U.S. chemical companies together. The U.S. has conducted more nuclear
weapons tests than all other nations combined, and is also responsible
for the massive amount of radiation that continues to contaminate many
islands in the Pacific Ocean.[1]
And this
is to say nothing about the massive destruction caused by open
warfare the U.S. has carried out all over the world, including
conflicts
where Canada has been an active participant. In Iraq, for example,
U.S. military action has resulted in the desertification of
90 per cent of Iraqi territory, turning it from a food exporter
into one that has to import 80 per cent of its food.[2]
For governments, such as the Trudeau Liberals, to
portray themselves as defenders of the natural environment by promoting
carbon tax schemes while integrating Canada into the U.S. war machine
is not acceptable, while those in waiting openly tout militarization
and war.
To be effective in defending Mother Earth, Canadians
must
empower themselves politically, so that the issue of protecting the
natural environment can be considered in a profound way
and the need to oppose war and related activities, like the CANSEC
weapons fair, argued out with conviction.
Make Canada a Zone for Peace!
Canadians, and especially Quebeckers, in the main
reject
Canada's involvement in U.S.-led aggression and war -- they want
Canada to be a genuine force for peace in the world. So too must
they reject Canada's involvement in weapons manufacturing and
sales to feed the U.S. war machine.
The working class of Canada
is made up of the sons and
daughters of the countries of the world. Many have even come to
Canada to escape war and conflict. They do not want to be part of
the U.S. war machine or involved in war production.
Working people do not accept
the Canadian government's refusal to defend the manufacturing jobs
Canada needs, while its Cabinet ministers and military personnel serve
as brokers for the arms industry. They want a manufacturing sector in
Canada that provides for what Canadians require, and reject
nation-wrecking by companies that treat Canada's economy as an outpost
in their global empire. They reject the nation-wrecking of the arms
manufacturers and war profiteers who destroy other peoples, countries
and the natural environment so as to line their pockets.
Making Canada a Zone for Peace, which ends war
production and destruction of the natural and social environment, and
upholds the cause of peace everywhere requires taking up the work for
political empowerment and making a break from the cartel party system
that blocks the people from speaking in their own name. These
anti-democratic parties of the rich give rise to governments over which
the people can exercise no control and whose aim is to serve narrow
private interests -- as seen in the SNC-Lavalin scandal -- or to serve
NATO and the U.S. war machine. Governments in which the people have no
say can only mean more misfortune for the people. The times are crying
out for new arrangements.
Notes
1. "U.S. Military Is World's
Biggest
Polluter," Mint Press News, May 15, 2017.
2. "U.S. Department of Defense is
the
Worst Polluter on the Planet," Project Censored, October 2,
2010.
This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 19 - May 25, 2019
Article Link:
Opposition Organized to Ottawa CANSEC
Weapons
Fair: War Profiteers Not Welcome in Canada! Make Canada a Zone for Peace! - Nick Lin
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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