No to NATO! Get Canada Out of NATO!
Demonstrate Against NATO Secretary General’s Visit to Ottawa!
Calgary Picket
Wednesday, June 19 — 4:30 pm
Memorial Drive and 10 Street NW
Organized by CPC(M-L) Calgary
Edmonton Picket
Wednesday, June 19 — 4:30 pm
South end of the High Level Bridge (109 Street Bridge)
Organized by Edmonton Committee Against War and Racism (ECAWAR)
The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) calls on peace-loving Canadians and Quebeckers to denounce the visit to Canada of Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on June 19.[1]
Stoltenberg arrives in Ottawa on June 19 to meet with Prime Minister Trudeau. He will be met with a militant demonstration of the opposition of Canadians to NATO and to Canada’s militarization and participation in the U.S./NATO wars and war preparations. A NATO news release informs that in Ottawa he will receive the Louis St-Laurent Award of Excellence and give a speech followed by a Q and A at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building, 144 Wellington.
Stoltenberg is a virulent anti-communist who advocates expanding the U.S./NATO proxy war against Russia and pursuing U.S. attempts to impose its hegemony on the entire world. This is being done at a time the peoples everywhere are demanding the Ukraine War be ended but the U.S., Britain and Canada are advocating direct NATO involvement in attacks on Russian territory. The Trudeau government is virulently pro the Nazi regime in Ukraine and is desperate to legitimate its appeasement of U.S./Zionist genocide in Palestine as well.
Stoltenberg’s visit to Canada and the U.S. is no doubt directed at trying to pump new life into an unraveling NATO on the eve of its 75th anniversary Summit to be held in Washington, DC on July 9-11. Most importantly, however, it is also to further legitimate the travesty that NATO stands for peace. The extent of the travesty the government of Canada is attempting to pull off can be seen in the announcement that Stoltenberg will be awarded the Louis St-Laurent Award of Excellence during his visit.
The Louis St-Laurent award of Excellence is the highest award conferred to a member of the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) “in recognition of a lifetime of outstanding service and professional achievement to the benefit of the legal profession, the CBA and society at large.”[2]
According to the CBA, the “breadth and scope of achievement are significant factors in receipt of this award, as is the contribution that the individual has made to the goals and objectives of the CBA.”
The Award was named in honour of Louis St-Laurent, a former Prime Minister of Canada and former President of the CBA.
Stoltenberg is clearly not a member of the CBA. We also doubt very much whether the members of the CBA were even consulted about this award, since the nomination procedure does not involve them. So why is he receiving this award? To answer this question we must go to Louis St. Laurent’s role in the period after World War II as the architect of Canada’s Cold War foreign policy.
In September 1946, St. Laurent became Secretary of State for External Affairs. He served in that post until two years later, when he became leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister, succeeding the Hitler-loving wartime prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King who retired in 1948. St. Laurent was Prime Minister from 1948 to1957. 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.
Canada is praised for contributing NATO’s Article 2 which commits members to maintain a “free” political system and to promote economic cooperation. To cover up that NATO is an aggressive military pact pushing the hegemonic designs of the Anglo-American imperialists, a NATO “retrospective” praising Canada’s role says: “From the beginning, Canada emphasized that NATO needed to be more than just a military pact — it needed to promote political, economic and cultural bonds between its members. Since signing the North Atlantic Treaty, Canada has participated fully in NATO activities — including stationing troops in Europe for the duration of the Cold War. Ultimately, Canada has worked to expand the definition of security at NATO, pushing for greater emphasis on civilian aspects of security while also contributing to the Alliance’s military capabilities.”
All of it is to perpetuate the ideology of the Cold War today according to which peace, freedom and democracy are secured by maintaining the monopoly over the use of force – something which the peoples of the world as one humanity reject.
All Out to Oppose the Visit of NATO’s Secretary-General to Canada!
Get Canada Out of NATO! Dismantle NATO!
Notes
1. In Washington DC on June 17, Stoltenberg will meet with President Biden. He is also scheduled to deliver a speech followed by a Q and A at the Wilson Center Auditorium. On June 18, he is scheduled to meet with the U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A NATO news release says he will also engage with U.S. senators, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and members of the Senate NATO Observer Group (SNOG).
On June 20, after his unwelcome visit to Canada, Stoltenberg is scheduled to meet U.S. National Security Adviser to the President, Jake Sullivan, Congressman Mike Turner and Congressman Gerry Connolly.
2. Nomination Procedure for the Louis St-Laurent Award of Excellence
Nominations may be submitted by individuals from the following groups: CBA National Section Chairs, CBA Branch Presidents, CBA National Committee and Subcommittee Chairs, and CBA Board of Directors.
Each candidate requires a minimum of one letter of support, to a maximum of three, from active CBA members.
Each nomination must include the candidate’s curriculum vitae and completed application form.
Eligibility
Candidates must be CBA members in good standing at the time of nomination
Governance and Equality Committee and current Board members are not eligible for the Award
Groups are not acknowledged as candidates.
Selection Process
Applications are reviewed by the CBA Award Selection Panel and recommendation made to the Governance and Equality Committee.
Deadline
The deadline for nominations is February 19, 2024 at 8:00 pm (ET).
Prize
The winner is presented with an engraved bronze medallion. The design of medallion was inspired by the bronze statue of The Right Honourable Louis St-Laurent which sits in front of the Supreme Court of Canada Building in Ottawa.
For the list of prior award winners, click here.
![]() |
![]() |