by Miriam Katawazi
Peace activists across the country are re-awakening as Canada joins the airstrike campaign in Iraq.
Conservative MPs,with their majority in the House of Commons, voted in favour of Canada’s involvement in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Oct. 7.
“It is imperative that we act with our allies to halt ISIL’s spread in the region and reduce its capacity to launch terrorist attacks outside the region,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in a statement on the day of the vote.
He also added, “ISIL has been carrying out a campaign of unspeakable atrocities against innocent children, women and men, as well as religious minorities in Iraq.”
Peace and anti-war groups believe Canada’s military role could make matters worse in Iraq.
From Oct. 24 to 26, activists in Vancouver, Toronto, Windsor, Charlottetown, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Montreal, Halifax and Ottawa will march against Canada’s involvement in the bombing campaign.
The people of Iraq will be experiencing more destruction and decimation because of this war, said Christine Jones, co-chair of the Canadian Peace Alliance. Canadians should question the government’s decision to engage in the region, she added.
If Canada were serious about the well-being of Iraqi people, then the government – not the military – could have done a lot more to support the region, Jones said.
“Canada could have increased support for infrastructure redevelopment in Iraq. The water systems and sewer systems are totally thrashed there.”
“We could have sent specialists to work with Iraqi engineers to rebuild the infrastructure. We could have sent trainers to go and support teachers who are teaching in post-conflict realities. We could have been serious about supporting women‘s rights by working, vocally and publicly, with the feminist movement in Iraq,” she added.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, about 2.8 million people are currently displaced in Iraq. Jones said Canada should be doing more to support those who are dealing with displacement rather than engaging in more violence.
The NDP, Liberals, and the Green Party have also stated their opposition to the war.
In a statement following the vote, NDP leader Thomas Mulcair claimed, “the Conservatives are plunging Canada into a prolonged war without a credible plan to help victims of ISIL terror.”
“They have also opened the door to Canadian involvement in Syria’s bloody civil war,” he added.
In the House of Commons on Oct. 3, Green Party leader Elizabeth May warned that Canada should make sure that its involvement does not make matters worse. Bombings, she said, have never ended an extremist terrorist threat.
A more proactive approach, May argued, addresses structural issues within the region. “We need to sign the arms trade treaty. We need to stem the flow of conventional arms to terrorists. We need to track the money. We need to find out who is fuelling these people. We need sensible plans. We need to make sure that there are not vast numbers, cohorts of unemployed young men, who feel alienated within their societies,” she stated.
In a statement, the Canadian Peace Alliance claimed that many of the countries involved in the military campaign are the same countries that are using a “heavy hand” of austerity against their own citizens.
“While claiming that there is no money for public services, women’s programs, the environment, schools, healthcare, and living wages, Harper is now actively directing resources into activities which will, in no way, provide for long term economic and human prosperity – either in Iraq or Canada,” the group stated.
Jones said Canadians should join the peace movement in the country to speak against militarization and violence. A rally in Ottawa will be held on Oct. 25 at the Human Rights Monument at 1 p.m., she added.
This article first appeared in the Leveller Vol. 7, No. 2 (Oct/Nov 2014).
