The Toronto Association for Peace and Solidarity (TAPS) held a rally on October 23 as the culmination of the #FundPeaceNotWar Week of Action by the Canada-wide Peace and Justice Network, a coalition of 45 peace groups. The rally was organized in front of Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s office around the urgent need for Canada to leave NATO. Freeland is the most hawkish cabinet minister in the federal government and the architect behind the $8 billion increase in military spending in the 2022 budget, $6.1 billion of which was for NORAD and NATO commitments. Many solidarity organizations endorsed the action, including the Canada-Cuba Friendship Association (CCFA), the Latin American and Caribbean Solidarity Network, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Pax Christi, and the Naujawan Support Network.
The rally was emceed by Helen Kennedy from TAPS and the United May Day Committee. Representatives of the Tudeh Party of Iran sent greetings, speaking to the effect of sanctions by NATO members on working-class people in Iran and to the importance of international solidarity with the struggles for democratic rights happening in Iran. Elizabeth Hill spoke on behalf of the CCFA Toronto about the need for solidarity work to help Cuban people recover from the impact of Hurricane Ian in Cuba, exacerbated by the illegal U.S. sanctions that prevent the importation of lifesaving equipment and even basic necessities. Cuba has demonstrated time and time again its leadership in proletarian internationalism, sending humanitarian aid around the world; we need to take from its example and work to help the ongoing recovery efforts, Hill said. Andrew Kesik, speaking on behalf of the YCL-LJC Dorise Nielsen club, connected the issues of rising student fees and cuts to public education funding to rising military budgets. The president of the Canadian Peace Congress, Miguel Figueroa, talked about the #FundPeaceNotWar Week of Action, the urgency of building the broadest base for the peace movement in the face of nuclear threats, and the importance of an anti-imperialist analysis and strategy. Organizers from the Naujawan Support Network connected the hyper-exploitation of migrants and international students in Canada to the upheaval and devastation that is caused by corporations based in NATO countries, their investments in multinationals, or even direct military intervention that are causes of migration. Jeanne McGuire, member of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party, eloquently connected the different themes of the rally and speeches and reiterated that the way forward was to build the peace movement with consistent actions.
NATO — the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a U.S.-led military alliance of 30 countries — is the greatest threat to global peace and the armed wing of western finance capital. NATO’s wars in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Libya involved bombing of hospitals, prisons, embassies, homes, apartment buildings, civilian factories, busses, trains, churches, and bridges, resulting in the killing, maiming, poisoning, and harming of civilians. For decades, NATO has been provoking conflict with Russia, leading to the outbreak in hostilities. NATO’s demand that members spend 2% of GDP on the military is leading to a costly arms race. Heavily polluting weapons systems like fighter jets, tanks, drones, and warships are exacerbating the climate crisis.
Canada needs to leave NATO and reinvest the billions spent on militarism into social services like universal healthcare, education, childcare, and infrastructure like transit and public housing. That will only happen with a strong, mobilized peace movement with an anti-imperialist core. All clubs of the YCL-LJC need to have the peace and solidarity movement on their agenda, so that young comrades can work to build and strengthen peace councils coast to coast. It is the role of young communists to bring the peace movement into the youth and student movements, and the youth and student movements into the peace movement. Young people have a vested interest in building the peace movement — we need to take action for peace now, because tomorrow will be too late!