Help us deliver your names

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Published on Wednesday, 23 August 2017 19:45

Written by editor

We want to deliver your petition to Chrystia Freeland's office - but we need to make it look good for the media. Will you chip in so we can print the above signs for a more eye-catching delivery?

When news broke that Canadian-made weapons were being used in attacks against civilians in Saudi Arabia, the Leadnow community sprang into action.

Already more than 12,000 of you have signed a petition calling the Liberal government to immediately cancel export permits for military equipment headed for Saudi Arabia.

The Liberals promised to cancel export permits to Saudi Arabia if the weapons were being used against citizens -- but weeks have passed and the government still hasn’t followed through. It’s time to turn up the pressure.

We’re planning to deliver your petition directly to Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office in Toronto. If we can make the petition delivery event into a news story, we can turn up the heat on the media-conscious Liberals, and force them to respond and cancel the permits.

Whenever I’m inviting reporters to cover our events, they always ask what kind of visuals we’ll have. Reporters love a good photo op. For just a few hundred bucks, we can make giant signs, props and banners that are sure to get the media interested.

Can you chip in $5, $10 or $15 for a hard-hitting petition delivery?

Yes, I'll chip in

We'll put your money towards printing banners like this:

Opposition to this unethical deal is growing. Your petition is already at over 12 000 signers, and the media, opposition parties and human rights groups have called on the government to cancel the permits.

It’s against Canada’s export control rules to export weapons if we think there’s a chance they’ll be used against civilians.[1-2] Given Saudi Arabia’s history on human rights, we should never have agreed to sell them weapons in the first place. But now we have an opportunity to make sure no more damage is done.

This is an image-conscious government, and Trudeau’s status as protector of human rights could be at risk if they don’t take immediate steps to cancel these permits.

Then-Minister of Foreign Affairs Stephane Dion said back in 2016 that if the vehicles were being used against civilians, they would cancel the permits.[3] Now, in the face of evidence that it is happening, it’s time for the Liberals to walk the talk.

Help us remind the Liberals of their promise to protect human rights and cancel these permits. Chip in to help fund our creative petition delivery at Chrystia Freeland’s office.

https://secure.leadnow.ca/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1694&ea.campaign.id=76232

With gratitude,

Katelynn, Jolan, and Logan on behalf of the Leadnow team

P.S. If you prefer to donate by cheque, please send your cheque payable to "Leadnow" to:

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Sources:

[1] New video purports to show Canadian-made LAVs being used in Saudi crackdown (CBC): http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/rci-saudi-arabia-lavs-armoured-vehicles-canada-1.4239525

[2] The Saudi arms deal: What we’ve learned so far, and what could happen next (Globe and Mail): https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-saudi-arms-deal-what-weve-learned-so-far/article28180299/

[3] Oral Questions, House of Commons, April 13, 2016 https://openparliament.ca/debates/2016/4/13/stephane-dion-2/

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