The calls to cancel Canada Day continue to grow louder after hundreds of Indigenous children were found in unmarked graves near former Indian residential schools in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. A national day of mourning and collective reflection in honour of these children is far more fitting than the usual fireworks and parades which celebrate a country founded on genocide, writes Pam Palmater.

Proponents of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance insists that its working definition of antisemitism is aspirational, meant only to rally opposition to hatred of Jews, and is not legally binding. But the fallout from an event hosted in Winnipeg several years ago is emblematic of how the definition represents a direct threat to freedom of expression about Israel and Palestine.

Jason Kenney’s premiership was always going to cost Alberta a fortune, whether in dignity or in dollars. Few would have suspected his ineptitude would cost lives, but here we are. After lacklustre performances leading three different ministries during the Harper years, the MP for Calgary Midnapore set his eyes on leading his home province. Kenney’s best-before date is long past due.

Conversion therapy is premised on the noxious idea that gay people are broken. Jurisdictions around the world have outlawed these pseudoscientific “therapies,” and similar legislation is long past due in Canada—so it is utterly despicable that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delayed his long-promised ban on the practice to put the interests of the Liberal Party ahead of those being victimized today.

Recently elected leader Annamie Paul has severely divided and damaged the Green Party of Canada, and there have been no public attempts to heal a glaring rift in the membership. If one were to ascribe motives based on her actions, it would seem Paul is aiming to purge the internationalist, anti-racist left from the party—by calling them racists. Sadly, it’s a a tactic much of the media is applauding.

The Liberals continue to espouse a “feminist foreign policy,” but in practice they preside over a patriarchal, militaristic, and violent approach to the Middle East—all while leaning on the assumption that they will not be scrutinized as forcefully as an unabashed right wing government. If these policies continue, it signals that the world assuredly does not “need more Canada,” but less of it.

The Liberals are hiding information in contracts directly related to our health and well-being during a once-in-a-century global crisis. How much did the pharmaceutical giants charge us for life-saving vaccines? What were the delivery expectations? Who failed us? How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again? These are all questions that Canadians deserve answers to, particularly those who lost loved ones during the pandemic.

The international community’s rejection of Canada’s bid for a seat on the UN Security Council was a message to Canadians to demand better from our government. And while difficult to sustain, it is grassroots anti-war and international solidarity activism that will change Canadian foreign policy for the better. If we want a foreign policy based on peace, human rights and care for the planet, the only way forward is to organize.

Unifor’s call for a full weapons ban and embargo on Israel should be followed by a call for the Government of Canada to immediately end arms exports to Saudi Arabia. Labour can and must do its part to stop the flow of arms to Saudi Arabia. Our movement’s commitment to peace, human rights, and solidarity with working people everywhere, demands it. We look forward to hearing from you.

Score an own goal for the Green Party’s most pro-Israel members, Noah Zatzman and newly minted leader Annamie Paul. Not only are they responsible for forcing one of their own to cross the floor into the Liberal Party caucus, they exposed their anti-Palestinian bias by conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism and unjustly smearing a colleague who disagreed with their reactionary positions.