From November 22nd to 25th, Montreal will host a gathering of hundreds of of lawmakers from NATO member states for its 70th Annual Parliamentary Assembly.
In order to ensure that the inevitable NATO calls for more military spending, increasing animosity towards China and Iran, and escalation of the war in Ukraine are countered by individuals and organizations that advocate for peace, the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network [CWPJN], representing 50 peace and social justice organizations across Canada, will be organizing a Counter Summit on Sunday, November 24th – with the support and participation of numerous activists, artists, and organizations from the Montreal area. Speakers will include leaders of various Canadian and Quebec peace groups, as well as German MP and former member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Sevim Dağdelen; and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink in the USA.
Speakers will make the link between NATO military expansion in Europe, climate justice, the danger of nuclear war, and the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The NATO Counter Summit will be accompanied by a street demonstration organized by the Movement Québécois pour la paix, on Saturday, November 23rd, at 2 pm at Place du Canada, as well as a press conference on the final day of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, November 25th, at 10 am at Parc de la presse. Peace activists and Counter Summit organizers will be available to speak to the media throughout the four-day NATO Assembly. In addition, the CWPJN is calling upon its constituent groups to organize a Weekend of Action Against NATO by organizing rallies, pickets, and watch parties of the Counter Summit in their local cities and towns.
“While NATO member states, including Canada, have adopted a foreign policy of confrontation and military escalation with Russia, China, and Iran, not to mention a blatant disregard for the national and human rights of the people of West Asia, the Canadian peace movement will be in Montreal to counter the destructive, expensive, pro-war narrative propagated by the NATO war machine,” said Ken Stone of the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network.
“All over the world, NATO states and their allies are promoting an agenda of warfare, confrontation, and increased militarism,” observed Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec. “As NATO delegates gather in Montreal, peace activists from across Canada and the world, will come together to oppose the NATO military agenda. This conference will both expose the NATO military alliance for what it truly is, while putting forward concrete plans for world peace, military de-escalation, and collaborative diplomacy on the world stage.”
Pierre Jasmin noted that “Les Artistes pour la paix demands that Canada immediately sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (UNIDIR-UN) – in contradiction to NATO’s first strike nuclear weapons policy – and break with NATO’s practice of provoking and prolonging the war with Russia in Ukraine. Instead, Mr. Trudeau should pick up the phone and call Mr Putin to seek a negotiated end to the conflict.”
Jad Kabbanji of the Quebec Peace Movement (MQP) observed, “Quebec plays a growing strategic role in NATO plans by providing its critical mineral resources and hydroelectricity, essential for military and technological infrastructure. Faced with this integration, it becomes imperative to promote Quebec as a zone of peace, in particular by opposing the organization of the NATO parliamentary assembly in Montreal. More broadly, this involves campaigning for Canada’s withdrawal from NATO, in order to favor policies focused on diplomacy and non-military collective security.”
Schedule of Events
NATO Counter Summit
Date: Sunday, November 24th, 10:00am-5:30pm (doors open for registration at 9 am)
Location: Association des travailleurs grecs du Québec, 5359 Av du Parc, Montréal, QC H2V 4G9
Demonstration organized by Movement Québécois pour la paix calling for #CanadaOutOfNATO
Date: Saturday, November 23, 2:00pm
Location: Place du Canada, 1010 Rue De la Gauchetière O, Montréal, QC H3B 2N2
Press Conference hosted by various peace groups
Date: November 25, 10:00am
Location: Parc de la presse
More general information, including the list of sponsors, is located at the website of the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network: https://peaceandjusticenetwork.ca/