No. 5September 7, 2019

No Harbour for War! Make Canada a Zone for Peace!

No to Cutlass Fury 2019! No U.S. or Other Foreign Warships in Canadian Waters!

Halifax

Sunday, September 8 — 1:00-3:00 pm
Victoria Park, Spring Garden Rd. at South Park St.
Organized by: No Harbour for War
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Halifax will soon be the launching pad for one of the largest naval exercises in Canadian history. Twenty-two NATO-aligned warships will be involved in Cutlass Fury 2019. The exercise runs September 9-20 with the area of operation being approximately 50-100 nautical miles southeast of Halifax Harbour.

Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France and Germany are expected to take part. The warships will begin arriving the first week of September. The exercise will see most of the 22 warships departing Bedford Basin on Monday, September 9. In Cutlass Fury 2016 there were two nuclear submarines docked at CFB Shearwater which joined the war fleet as it left the harbour and this is expected again this year.

The people of Halifax have long rejected the use of their city and harbour to embroil Canadians in imperialist adventures abroad. They have vigorously opposed the “visits” of U.S. and other foreign warships as well as the use of the Canadian Navy in U.S. and NATO led aggressions against the world’s peoples.

Canada must not participate in U.S. imperialist war preparations and must also defend its sovereignty in a meaningful way.

This means not permitting the U.S. imperialists to exercise command and control over Canada’s air, land, water and government and military assets. We must withdraw from NATO as well as NORAD and work for an independent foreign policy.

This means removing all Canadian soldiers, ships and equipment from foreign territory. Most importantly, it means that Canadians must prepare to establish an anti-war government.

No U.S. or Other Foreign Warships in Canadian Waters!
Get Canada Out of NATO and NORAD!
Work for an Anti-War Government!

Protest Opposes Use of the Canadian National Exhibition to Promote War and Militarism

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, the Parkdale Free School and others held a two-hour protest at the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto on August 31 to oppose the use of the CNE to promote war and militarism in Canada. They called for an end to the Canadian International Air Show which highlights U.S. and Canadian fighter jets which have been used by Canada to wage war on other nations. For example, on display was the CF 18 jet that was used, in violation of international law, to bomb Libya in 2011 as well as Syria and Iraq from 2014 to the present. The USAF A-10 was also on display that bombed Iraq and was used in the NATO war of aggression against Yugoslavia.

The protesters carried signs and chalked slogans on the sidewalk leading to the CNE grounds: Fighter Jets Are Bad for Climate and People, Air Shows Lead to Air Wars, No Militarized Entertainment, Ground the Air Show and others.

For two weeks the Department of National Defence has been recruiting on the CNE grounds. Families are invited to “play with” and examine the jets and guns. Various cut outs are provided as a prop to take photographs. Throughout the recruitment area the hashtag “We are NATO” was displayed.

The organizers reported that quite a few people stopped and engaged with the protesters and expressed support for their action. A decision was taken by the protesters to bring more people to the action next year to oppose the presentation of the instruments of war and death by the Canadian state as “family entertainment” and to expose the increasing militarization of Canadian life.

Department of National Defence interactive displays at the CNE encourage children and youth to take up imperialist war and aggression.

(Photos: Canadian Voice of Women for Peace)

Monthly Toronto Pickets Say No! to NATO

Next Monthly Picket

Tuesday, September 17 — 12:00-1:00 pm
NATO Association of Canada, 48 Yonge St.
Organized by: Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

Activists from the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada and others participated in a lively noon-hour picket outside the NATO Association of Canada office on August 29. The monthly pickets to oppose NATO are an initiative of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and have been taking place on the last Thursday of every month since the beginning of 2019. The activists denounce NATO as an aggressive alliance of 29 nations, including Canada, which threatens the security and well-being of the entire world.

Tamara Lorincz, the main organizer of the picket, states that the monthly actions are important to show that Canadians do not want their country to be a force for war and aggression; they want Canada out of NATO and NORAD. She points out that the pickets serve to inform Canadians about the role the Trudeau Liberals have played and continue to play in increasing funding for war and aggression, diverting public funds and attention away from threats to the environment and other social issues such as housing that require immediate attention. The pickets also expose Canada’s increasing militarism, and enable people to receive more information and take a stand for peace, she notes.

Toronto pedestrians gave the August picket a warm reception with many expressing support for the anti-war initiative. People stopped and engaged the picketers in discussion with some reflecting on the Canadian people’s historic striving for peace and against war.

The monthly pickets opposing NATO are an important step forward in building public opinion for an anti-war government in Canada and to make Canada a Zone for Peace. Join in!

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