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- Published on Monday, 29 February 2016 12:00
- Written by editor
Dear Friends of SJS,
a couple of great International Women's Day events and a call for action in support of Palestine:
Event Reminder:
Speaker Series: Cynthia Stirbys
March 8, 2016
11:30am-1:00pm
Ceremonial Hall, First Peoples’ House, UVic
How have Indigenous women and their daughters confronted the legacy of residential schools in Canada? Join the Centre for Aboriginal Health Research (CAHR) for an impactful presentation by Dr. Cynthia Stirbys of the CIHR Institute for Aboriginal Peoples' Health.
Stirbys will share insights from her research on female residential school survivors and their female descendants. Using a strength-based approach, Stirbys draws on women’s own stories of resilience to establish a framework for pursuing wellness in the face of trauma. This event is part of IdeaFest.
We... hope to see you there!
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thinking Women: The Life and Work of Michiko ‘Midge’ Ayukawa (1930-2013)
Tuesday, March 8, International Women’s Day1:30 pm | Maclaurin Building D116
A Roundtable with:• Patricia Roy, History• Christine St. Peter, Gender studies• Hiroko Noro, Pacific and Asian studies• Patti Ayukawa, Family
Presented by UVIC History and the Ayukawa Commemorative Fund, and co-sponsored by UVIC Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives, Department of Gender Studies, Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society.
Photoshoot: Hey, Trudeau Government, Make My Day, Condemn Me--I promote BDS to pressure Israel to respect international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Please join us on Thursday, March 3rd, 5pm sharp, at the University
of Victoria, to stand up publicly, in the face of the Trudeau Government's
Feb. 22nd condemnation of any and all attempts to promote BDS, to challenge the
Government to indeed "condemn" us for our words and actions that
promote BDS. We are not going to cower in response to the Government's
passage of this motion of condemnation, and we reserve our right to promote
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) as a means of pressuring Israel to
respect international law and the human rights of the Palestinian people
You can take pride in yourself for making a public stand, in fellowship with
others, and, of course, in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
As well as publicly challenging the Trudeau Government (and MPs of other
parties who either voted for the motion or abstained from voting) to condemn
us, we hope this event will create interest and discussion on campus and in the
wider community. We would like to create a buzz on campus and to get as much
publicity as possible. We encourage people to use the photo as one means
of showing our Members of Parliament that Canadians are very disturbed about
the passage of this motion, and that we are not going to be intimidated in the
face of it. Additionally, we hope to inspire similar events throughout
Canada.
We are delighted and honoured to be organising this event with the UVic Palestine Solidarity Action Group.
Event details are
as follows:
Event Name: Photoshoot: Hey, Trudeau Government, Make My
Day, Condemn Me--I promote BDS to pressure Israel to respect international law
and the human rights of the Palestinian people.
Date: Thursday, March 3rd, 2016
Time: 5pm sharp
Location: At the fountain, in front of the Mearns Learning Centre/McPherson Library, University of Victoria
Participants: Everyone welcome! Please spread the word--the more people in the photo, the bigger the impact.
Organisers: UVic Palestine Solidarity
Action Group, CJPME-Victoria Chapter
Contacts:
UVic Palestine Solidarity Action Group via Facebook page https://goo.gl/PtS7IR;
CJPME-Victoria Chapter via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or Facebook page https://goo.gl/lNh24M
Further Details of Event:
(1) The first order of business will be to take the group photo.
Organisers have prepared special placards, which will be included in the photo.
(2) We will be telling attendees about CJPME's online petition "Hey,
Trudeau Government, Make My Day, Condemn Me!, which we encourage you to sign
here: http://cjpme.org/condemn_me. The government has committed
to condemning all of us, for "any and all attempts" to promote BDS.
Let's challenge the government to do it, to each of us, by signing this petition.
What's Behind This Event:
On Monday, Feb. 22nd, a motion was passed in the House of Commons condemning
the BDS movement.
The wording of the motion is as follows: "That, given Canada and Israel
share a long history of friendship as well as economic and diplomatic
relations, the House reject the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)
movement, which promotes the demonization and delegitimization of the State of
Israel, and call upon the government to condemn any and all attempts by
Canadian organizations, groups or individuals to promote the BDS movement, both
here at home and abroad."
With the motion having passed, it is now a fact that the Trudeau Government
literally condemns all Canadians--be they individuals, groups or
organisations--that promote the BDS movement, both here in Canada and
elsewhere, as a means of pressuring Israel to respect international law and the
human rights of the Palestinian people. As you know, Israel has, for many
decades now, remained in defiance of international law and continues to violate
the human rights of the Palestinian people.
We want to stand up and be counted, saying to the Trudeau Government, hey, go
ahead, condemn me, we support and promote BDS, and we are going to continue to
do so.
We are addressing our outrage to Prime Minister Trudeau and his government of
the day, but it should be noted that some MPs from other parties also voted for
this motion or abstained from voting. Here are the results of the vote in
the House on Feb. 22nd:
- There are 338 sitting Members of Parliament in Canada's House of Commons.
- Only 280 MPs out of 338 voted on this motion.
- The remaining 58 MPs abstained from voting/did not vote. The MPs who abstained from voting would need to be contacted individually to find out why, exactly, they refrained from voting.
- Liberal Party Leader and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau voted for the motion to condemn BDS
- Interim Conservative Party Leader Rona Ambrose voted for the motion to condemn BDS
- NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair voted against the motion to condemn BDS
- Interim Bloc Québecois Leader Rhéal Fortin voted against the motion to condemn BDS
- Green Party Leader Elizabeth May abstained from voting.
- Including party leaders, and broken down by party, here's how MPs voted:
- Out of 184 Liberal MPs, 137 voted for the motion, 3 voted against, and 44 abstained.
- Out of 99 Conservative MPs, 92 voted for the motion, 0 voted against, and 7 abstained.
- Out of 44 NDP MPs, 42 voted against the motion, 0 voted against, and 2 abstained.
- Out of 6 Bloc Québecois MPs, 6 voted against the motion, 0 voted against, and 4 abstained.
- Out of 1 Green Party MP, 1 abstained.
Hope to see you there. Please spread the word. The more people in the photo/in attendance, the more impact we will make.
Kind regards,
Frances
Frances Everett
Coordinator, CJPME, Victoria Chapter
778.679.2943
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
10090 boulevard St-Laurent, Suite 201, Montréal, QC H3L 2N7
438-380-5410
--Margo MatwychukDirector
Social Justice Studies ProgramUniversity of Victoriaweb.uvic.ca/socialjustice/@UVicSJS on TwitterUVicSJS on FacebookUVicSJS on YouTube
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