The cross-Canada “On to Ottawa Peace Caravan 2024”

The cross-Canada On to Ottawa Peace Caravan 2024 is a positive action to lift us out of helplessness and overwhelm in the face of so many wars. We see their disastrous impact on people and Earth. We don’t believe the false promise that billions spent on war and militarization will bring us security. We do believe that peace is not a dream. It is an achievable reality, demanding more effort.”

The message the Caravan carries across Canada to Parliament Hill is: DEMILITARIZE. DECOLONIZE. DECARBONIZE.

    • May 12 (Mother’s Day) the West Coast Peace Caravan departs from Vancouver
    • May 25 the East Coast Peace Caravan departs from Halifax
    • May 28 the On to Ottawa Peace Caravan will converge in Ottawa for a peace rally and teach in, just in time for the huge CANSEC military weapons trade show.
    • May 29-30 a broad movement of activists, will protest and focus attention on CANSEC, Canada’s largest weapons trade show, held annually in Ottawa, and the need to demilitarize domestic and global economies.

Continue reading “The cross-Canada “On to Ottawa Peace Caravan 2024””

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/

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 https://demilitarize.org

GDAMS 2019

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