Category: ACTIVISM

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NO NEW FIGHTER JETS!

On April 10 and 11, 2021, Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace and the Halifax Raging Grannies called on the Canadian government to cancel the proposed purchase of 88 new fighter jets.

Fighter Jets – Fast Facts

  • In July 2019: Canadian government launched a $19 billion competition for 88 new fighter jets
  • A fighter jet is flown by one pilot and carries many bombs or missiles
  • Canadian fighter jets have illegally bombed Serbia in 1999 and have bombed Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq and Syria in the past decade that have killed innocent people and destroyed civilian infrastructure
  • Former Deputy Minister of Defense Charles Nixon stated Canada does not need fighter jets as Canada does not face any credible threat and they are not necessary to protect our populace or sovereignty.
  • Fighter jets have severe environmental consequences
  • The excessive carbon emissions will cause carbon lock-in, preventing Canada from decarbonizing and meeting the Paris Agreement targets to prevent catastrophic climate change
  • We need to be investing in a Green New Deal, not new weapons that drive climate change
  • Fighter jets and COVID-19
    • Currently, 14.9 million Canadians are relying on financial assistance
    • Public funds should support a just recovery from the pandemic and strengthen the social safety net, not combat aircraft

    http://nsvow.org/

    https://nofighterjets.ca/

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Engaging the Public in the Global Day of Action on Military Spending

It was a cold and windy April day, when NSVOW members and supporters engaged the public in an activity about public spending where people passing by in front of Halifax Central Library put four quarters (supplied by NSVOW) into jars labeled:

  • ARTS & CULTURE
  • ENVIRONMENT
  • HEALTH & EDUCATION
  • MILITARY
  • PEACE
  • WOMEN & CHILDREN

It was evident that people took the exercise very seriously as they contemplated how to distribute their quarters.

They were then invited to fill out a poster “If I had 1.75 trillion dollars (the approximate amount of world-wide annual military spending) I would #movemilitarythemoney to _____.”

Results:

  • Health and Education:  73
  • Environment: 64
  • Environment:  64
  • Women and Children:  52
  • Arts and Culture:  36
  • Peace:  36
  • Military:  2

One area that several people mentioned that was not covered by our jars was affordability of living (housing and food). We will take that into account when we design next year’s action for the Global Day of Action on Military Spending.

For more information check out http:// demilitarize.org

GDAMS 2019

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Global Day of Action on Military Spending: Halifax Votes!

GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION ON MILITARY SPENDING (GDAMS)
Held annually in April, NSVOW joined thousands of people around the world in calling for reallocation of Military budgets to social and humanities needs.
The local event was held outside the Central Library and provided the public with an opportunity to choose where they  want their tax dollars spent by placing a provided quarter in the jar of their  choice.  Here’s how people voted:
Health & education:     31%
Environment                 24%
Women & Children      18%
Peace                              13%
Arts & Culture               11%
Military                           3%

Since 1997, the Canadian military budget has climbed from $8 billion to $23 billion. The federal government spends more on DND than any other department. (See Public Accounts graph below.)

graph1

Source: Public Accounts of Canada, 2015: http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/cpc-pac/2015/pdf/2015-vol2-eng.pf

program ex

See more event photos in Gallery.

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An open letter to Canada’s political leaders

Click HERE and sign our letter to Canada’s political leaders

The Canadian Voice of Women for Peace is the country’s oldest, national peace organization. We are concerned about the rise of militarism in our communities, increased arms sales overseas, and Canadian Forces’ airstrikes in the Middle East. We want Canada to Make Space for Peace and to be a leader in diplomacy, international law, nonviolence and disarmament. This election, please pledge your support for our peace priorities and after the election work with us and other civil society organizations on implementing them.
Our twelve peace priorities:

  1. Stop Canada’s bombing of Syria and Iraq and withdraw our troops from the Ukraine

  2. Open our borders to more refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Libya and Iraq

  3. Sign and ratify the Arms Trade Treaty

  4. Cancel the $15 billion General Dynamics Canada contract to send weapons to Saudi Arabia and instead invest in a strategy for green jobs and renewable energy

  5. Stop the secretive $26 billion Canadian Surface Combatant program and instead build affordable housing and public transportation across the country

  6. Reduce military spending and redirect funds to social and environmental needs

  7. Implement the recommendations of the External Review into Sexual Misconduct and Harassment in the Canadian Armed Forces

  8. Launch a public inquiry into Canada’s missing and murdered indigenous women and girls and create a national strategy to end gender-based violence

  9. Hold a public inquiry into Canada’s complicity in the torture of Afghan detainees

  10. Convene public consultations for a green paper on national defence and security and on the establishment of a Department of Peace

  11. Advance the United Nations’ Security Council agenda on Women, Peace & Security

  12. Show leadership in nuclear disarmament and host an international meeting on the proposed UN Nuclear Weapons Convention to abolish these weapons of mass destruction
    Click HERE and sign our letter today

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