October 20th, 2023
MPs across Canada call for ceasefire
Prime Minister,
As Members of Parliament and as Canadians, we have a duty to be the voice of our constituents in Ottawa. And they, like all of us, have been watching with worry and with horror the events unfolding in Israel and in Gaza.
We condemn the killing of innocent Israeli civilians in the attacks of October 7th by the terrorist group Hamas. Violence and acts of terror are never the way to lasting peace and justice. We call for the release of all hostages.
Canada has long been a voice for peace. The longer this conflict goes on, the more innocent civilians will pay with their lives. We demand that Canada join the growing international call for an immediate ceasefire. Canada must act before more innocent children are killed.
We further call on Canada to do all in its power to facilitate the opening of a humanitarian corridor so that badly needed humanitarian aid supplies can reach the innocent Palestinian people. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is a crisis worsening by the hour. They are out of food, water and medical supplies. Assistance is needed now.
Finally, we call on Canada to strongly stand up for international law. International law is clear that innocent civilians and all those not taking part in the fighting must on no account be attacked and must be spared and protected. Canada must remind all parties to this conflict of their responsibilities in this regard.
Canada must recognize that, for generations, the Palestinian people have suffered under occupation. Canada must reaffirm its commitment to a free Palestinian state living peacefully alongside a free Israeli state and do all it can to bring the parties to the negotiating table.
Prime Minister, the people of Canada are looking to you and their government to be a voice for peace and for the protection of innocent lives. They want Canada to once again answer the world’s call for courageous moral leadership in a time of war and despair, as generations of Canadians have answered that call throughout our nation’s history.
Sincerely,
Niki Ashton - Churchill--Keewatinook Aski
Omar Alghabra - Mississauga Centre
Shafqat Ali - Brampton Centre
Chandra Arya - Nepean
Alexandre Boulerice - Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
Tony Van Bynen - Newmarket-Aurora
Shaun Chen - Scarborough North
George Chahal - Calgary Skyview
Paul Chiang - Markham-Unionville
Michael Coteau - Don Valley East
Don Davies - Vancouver Kingsway
Lena Diab - Halifax West
Nathaniel Erskine-Smith - Beaches-East York
Leah Gazan - Winnipeg Centre
Iqwinder Gaheer - Mississauga-Malton
Matthew Green - Hamilton Centre
Gord Johns - Courtenay Alberni
Peter Julian - New Westminster—Burnaby
Arielle Kayabaga - London West
Iqra Khalid - Mississauga-Erin Mills
Adam van Koeverden - Milton
Irek Kusmierczyk - Windsor—Tecumseh
Joël Lightbound - Louis-Hébert
Lindsay Mathyssen - London—Fanshawe
Elizabeth May - Saanich—Gulf Islands
Mike Morrice - Kitchener Centre
Yasir Naqvi - Ottawa Centre
Jennifer O'Connell - Pickering—Uxbridge
Patrick Weiler - West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country
Jean Yip - Scarborough-Agincourt
Salma Zahid - Scarborough Centre
Sameer Zuberi - Pierrefonds—Dollard
René Arseneault - Madawaska—Restigouche