FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2023
Media Liaison: 647-769-2472, canada@worldbeyondwar.org
Additional photos and videos are available to download here.
“Canada Stop Arming Israel”: Workers block entrance to Toronto company arming Israeli military
(Toronto, Ontario) Canada must stop arming Israel, said a coalition of over 100 workers and organizations who are blocking the entrances to the manufacturing plant and global headquarters for Toronto-based company INKAS.
“We refuse to stand by as businesses in our neighborhoods and across Canada are arming and making a fortune off of carnage in Gaza and the massacre of thousands of Palestinians,” said Rachel Small, organizer with World BEYOND War. “And so we’re here, blocking these entrances, to send the message that Canada must not only call for a ceasefire but also cut off the flow of weapons to Israel.”
Specializing in security and defense, INKAS highlights in press materials that their Israeli division has “supplied the government of Israel with more command & control units than any other supplier in history.” This is against the backdrop of Canada awarding 315 permits for a total of $21.3 million worth of military goods and technology exported to Israel in 2022.
“We’re here in response to the call from Palestinian workers for an end to arming Israel,” said Simon Black with Labour Against the Arms Trade. “Unions in Canada have repeatedly called for an arms embargo on Israel and for an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid.”
“Workers in Canada do not want their labour used in service of ethnic cleansing. We demand that Canada cease arms sales to Israel,” said Anna Lippman, from Labour for Palestine. “Labour unions have historically led the fight for human rights both in Canada and globally. Today we show up again and demand our politicians stop funding genocide.”
The groups are calling on allies to tell Canada’s Members of Parliament and key ministers to end the sale of arms to Israel using this online action: https://worldbeyondwar.org/CanadaStopArmingIsrael/
Media Contacts:
World BEYOND War, canada@worldbeyondwar.org, 647-769-2472
Labour Against the Arms Trade, 416-894-1662
Follow twitter.com/wbwCanada and twitter.com/LAATCanada for photos, videos, and updates during the blockade.
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Media Coverage
CBC Toronto evening news: https://x.com/wbwcanada/status/1719172384073134348?s=46&t=MckpxGeVSlJAjDoyC26Mog
CBC (Spanish): https://ici.radio-canada.ca/rci/es/noticia/2022572/protesta-de-trabajadores-en-toron”to-canada-debe-dejar-de-armar-a-israel
independent media coverage that summarizes the #CanadaStopArmingIsrael work over the past 2 weeks: https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/canada-war-profiteers-targeted-solidarity-palestine
City TV: https://toronto.citynews.ca/2023/10/30/israel-gaza-protest-toronto-factory-arrests/
Great Breakfast television feature: https://twitter.com/WBWCanada/status/1719338652633842134
Democracy Now: https://x.com/wbwcanada/status/1719367195443032203?s=46&t=MckpxGeVSlJAjDoyC26Mog
Inkas statement: https://inkas.ca/chairperson-forum/lawful-protest-at-inkas-hq
