How to Use This Guide

This guide should be used by individuals and organizations alike to screen candidates in the lead-up to the 2019 Federal Election, and also to engage them in discussion on important issues affecting the Middle East. It is important to get candidates thinking about the situation in Israel-Palestine and to garner their support for the policy positions outlined here. Candidates should understand that these points are important to many Canadians. Therefore, if they wish to gain public support, they must commit to action on these issues.

This document contains seven different policy positions, each one structured in a similar fashion:

  • Every point includes an Overview section, which provides necessary context and background information. This section will allow you to be well-informed and well-versed when engaging in conversation with candidates.
  • The Questions for Federal Candidates portion outlines some questions that you may use should you encounter pushback from candidates. This section also includes some questions that may be used to push for commitments from candidates, should they be elected. Candidates’ answers to these questions will also help you determine whether or not they are serious about supporting human rights and justice in Palestine-Israel.
  • Following this section, you will find our Supporting Points, which should help you validate and substantiate your claims throughout your conversation. This section outlines how a given policy position is supported by international law, UN resolutions, or other credible sources. It also delineates Canada’s official foreign policy in relation to this issue, and how government practices often contradict this policy.
  • The final section, Recommendations for Canada, puts forth some suggestions for ways that Canada’s foreign policy may be reoriented and improved.

As you move through the document, feel free to pick and choose the points in this guide that resonate most with you.

In reading this guide, you will come to see that the Canadian government’s current practices often do not match its stated foreign policy objectives. If this frustrates you, we encourage you to challenge candidates and take action. Our hope is that this document inspires both the candidates and the electorate to get vocal, get organized and make a difference.

CJPME acknowledges that our offices, located in Montreal, are on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk), whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.  CJPME recognizes the Kanienʼkehá꞉ka as the customary keepers and defenders of the St. Lawrence River Watershed and its tributaries. We honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.  Further, CJPME respects and affirms the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land. CJPME has and will continue to honour the commitments to self-determination and sovereignty we have made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.  CJPME also acknowledges the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believes that its work should contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together.

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) 580 Sainte-Croix Ave, Suite 060, Saint-Laurent, QC,  H4L 3X5. 
©2007-2023 CJPME

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