FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2023
Canadians rally for an end to the war in Ukraine in weekend of action
The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network (CWPJN) member groups will be holding actions across the country calling for an end to the war in Ukraine from February 23-February 26. The “Peace Now! Stop the War, Stop NATO” rallies will be held in Montreal, Ottawa, Hamilton, Waterloo, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria. There will also be online teach-ins about the war in Ukraine that people can attend.
The CWPJN wants the Trudeau government to stop sending weapons to Ukraine and to start supporting negotiations to end the war. This conflict has caused the displacement and death of thousands of Ukrainians and has destroyed civilian infrastructure, going back to 2014 when the conflict began in Ukraine’s Donbas region. Thousands of Russian soldiers are also being injured and killed. The CWPJN condemns the Trudeau government for refusing to talk to the Russian Federation, for arming Ukraine and for failing to support negotiations.
“Over the past year, Canada has sent Ukraine over $5 billion in military and financial aid to Ukraine. We are sending a lot of weapons to prolong this war and it is contributing to great suffering for the Ukrainian people,” stated Tamara Lorincz, member of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, member groups of CWPJN.
Janine Solanki, representative of Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO), member group of CWPJN, notes “NATO members launched deadly and destructive military interventions in the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, and Libya. Alongside destruction abroad, we see the impacts at home as social needs are underfunded while military funding is increased to meet NATO’s 2% GDP target. This includes Canada’s recently announced purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets that will eventually cost taxpayers $77 billion.”
“The Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network speaks for the one-quarter of Canadians who want to end the war in Ukraine through negotiations. It’s time for the prime and foreign ministers to stop fuelling this conflict with endless arms, funding, and mercenaries,” observed Ken Stone of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War, CWPJN member group, “and instead pick up the phone and call their counterparts in Russia seeking input on what it would take to end this war.”
For more information, please go to CWPJN: https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/stop-the-war-feb-2023
Press Contacts:
Tamara Lorincz in Waterloo
Janine Solanki in Vancouver
Ken Stone in Hamilton
(phone numbers provided to media in release, if you wish info contact, info@justpeaceadvocates.ca)
Source:
Angus Reid poll: https://mailchi.mp/angusreid.org/russian-invasion-55-of-canadians-say-ukraine-should-fight-on-half-as-many-say-its-time-to-negotiate-8483148?e=78b8a5be44
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