A grassroots organization representing some 250 groups across Canada is pressuring federal candidates to support the Palestinian people and end the violence in the region.
“Vote Palestine” lists candidates in all parties according to whether they have endorsed five key demands including an arms embargo on Israel; ending Canadian support for settlements; a commitment to combat anti-Palestinian racism and protect pro-Palestine speech; recognizing the state of Palestine and funding Gaza relief efforts, including the UNRWA.
Haifa Al-Aryan, a Palestinian living in Gatineau, welcomes the campaign is concerned the Palestinian issue will fade after the April 28 election.
“It’s great that Palestine is on the ballot and we’re making it known. This is an issue that isn’t going away, and matters to voters,” said Al-Aryan. “So, if they sign on that means they hear us, they see us. But we need to know if they’re signing off just to shut us up.”
Al-Aryan said many Palestinian and Arab youth feel angry and abandoned watching the Canadian government’s reaction to the attacks on Gaza. But she hopes the Vote Palestine platform gives people the tools to speak to their candidates about the violence in Gaza.
“When you speak to MPs, you need to speak in their language,” she said. “They have so many meetings, and they’re meeting with so many people about so many different things that you need to give them point-by-point, what we need and how to get it.”
Six candidates in Ottawa ridings have endorsed the “Vote Palestine” platform: Ryder Finlay (NDP) in Prescott-Russell-Cumberland; Joel Harden (NDP) in Ottawa Centre; Hena Masjedee (NDP) in Ottawa South; Tristan Oliff (NDP) from Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester; Beth Prokasa (NDP) in Carleton; Christian Proulx (Green) in Ottawa-Vanier-Gloucester; Jennifer Purdy (Green) in Kanata; Thaila Riden (Green) in Prescott-Russell-Cumberland; Amanda Rosenstock (Green) in Ottawa Centre; Melissa Simon (NDP) in Kanata; Jenna Sudds (Liberal) in Kanata and Mark Watson (Green) in Carleton.
Across the country nearly 200 candidates have endorsed the platform.
Ceasefire agreements around Gaza have not held in the aftermath of the attacks on Israel Oct. 7, 2023, which claimed more than 1,200 Israeli lives and led to the capture of about 250 people withy many still held hostage by Hamas. Israel’s military response has killed least 50,695 Palestinians, according to the Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
Joel Harden says there have been near weekly protests calling for a permanent ceasefire.
Harden said he believes the federal government has been indifferent to the ongoing issues in the Middle East saying the government should live up to its reputation as a champion of human rights.
“We’ve seen in Ottawa almost weekly protests for over a year now for Palestine, where community members have gathered to demand justice from their government and elected officials,” Harden said. “As a political campaign it’s important we respond to that.”
Jenna Sudds, one of the dozen or so Liberal candidates across Canada who has endorsed the platform, did so because she feels it is necessary to advance peace.
“[Sudds] continues to call for an immediate permanent ceasefire and an end to this senseless violence,” said Genevieve Lemaire, a spokeswoman for Sudds. “International law must be upheld, innocent civilians must be protected, and the hostages must be released and returned safely.”
Jennifer Purdy, the Green candidate in Kanata, said she endorses this platform not only in the interest of civilians affected by the violence, but also for Canadians who are being made to fund it.
“I continue to bear witness, as a human being and as a physician, and that is why it was an easy decision to endorse the Palestinian platform,” Purdy said. “This issue should be important to voters in Kanata and Ottawa because our taxpayer dollars are funding this genocide, and funding and supporting this is unethical and immoral.”
On March 18, a non-binding motion was passed in the House of Commons calling for a ceasefire, an end to further arms exports to Israel and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza among other items.
The motion says that Jewish, Muslim, Arab, and Palestinian Canadians have all reported an increase in hate-motivated attacks and racism and Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in peace, with full enjoyment of their human rights and democratic freedoms.
Jewish organizations have also launched their own election campaign. More Than Just a Vote calls for the protection of Jewish physical safety, accountability for hate, the safeguarding of Canadian society and values and the strengthening of ties with Israel. The platform was created by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in partnership with Jewish federations including the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.
