The Link: Dozens protest Canadian weapons parts shipments to Israel

Nearly 40 people gathered at the Complexe Desjardins on Jan. 30, calling for the passing of Bill C-233 to disable shipping weapons and components to Israel through U.S. loopholes.

The protest was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) in response to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand’s arrival in Montreal. It took place from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Protesters chanted “arms embargo now” as they marched from the DoubleTree by Hilton Montreal hotel parking lot all the way to Complexe Desjardins.

“The Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada has been allowing the ongoing shipments of weapons and arm components to the Israeli military,” said Rama Al Malah, a PYM member and protest organizer.

“Our coalition revealed evidence of these ongoing shipments," Al Malah added. "There has been no response from the government.”

According to the reports compiled by the PYM, World Beyond War and Arms Embargo Now, Canadian military components continued to be transported to Israel despite the Canadian government's alleged pause on Israeli arms shipments in January 2024.

Tabbal said Canadian citizens should pressure federal legislators to pass Bill C-233, known as the No More Loopholes Bill, by demonstrating their deep care for this issue.

Jenny Kwan, New Democratic Party MP, tabled a private member’s Bill C-233 to amend the Export and Import Permits Act in September 2025.

The bill aims to apply export controls to all arms, parts and technology; to remove U.S. and other country-based exemptions from the Export Control List; and to mandate end-use certificates to prevent diversion to human rights abusers.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://thelinknewspaper.ca/article/dozens-protest-canadian-weapons-parts-shipments-to-israel

Latest posts

News Release: MP Kwan Releases Video Calling for Support on Bill C-233 Before Upcoming Vote at Second Reading

Click image or link to watch the video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTSCJ4U1Hfs

Radio-Canada: Where is Canada's immigration minister? Community groups are asking

MPs question Lena Diab's performance at question period and in committee

Criticism is coming not only from opposition parties, but also from Diab's own Liberal colleagues.

Away from the cameras, 10 Liberal MPs spoke to Radio-Canada about her performance. They were granted confidentiality in order to express themselves freely.

Of those, only one defended Diab's job performance. Although several of them emphasized that she is a "good person" in charge of a "difficult" portfolio, nine MPs said they believe that the minister is overwhelmed and are openly questioning her place at the cabinet table.

"It doesn't make sense. In the House of Commons, many MPs hold their breath when she answers questions from the opposition," said one Liberal elected official.

"We're afraid she'll put her foot in her mouth."

New Democrat Jenny Kwan, her party's immigration critic, said that both Carney and Diab are responsible for how the immigration file is handled.

"That responsibility is to be responsive to stakeholders, to take these issues seriously, to examine the policies, to evaluate them, to hear from opposition and the public and look for ways to improve them," she said.

"That is their job."

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/lena-diab-immigration-minister-criticism-9.7103914

Hill Times: Failed asylum-seeker motion shows Conservatives ‘smelled blood in the water’ with minister, immigration as wedge issue, say politicos

Conservatives are capitalizing on the recent drop in public support for immigration, but risk being seen as too MAGA adjacent, say observers. Meanwhile, the immigration minister's own colleagues question her handling of the file.

The Conservatives’ defeated motion targeting health-care coverage for asylum claimants shows weaknesses on both the part of the Liberal immigration minister and the official opposition leader, with MAGA-like rhetoric posing political risk for the latter, observers say.

Jordan Leichnitz, a former NDP strategist who now works for the German non-profit Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, told The Hill Times in a Feb. 26 interview that the Conservatives’ pressure on the immigration file is a reflection of their own political fragility.

“To me, it’s a manifestation of their political weakness right now. They turn to these arguments because they’re very mobilizing for segments of their base at moments where they feel politically more vulnerable,” she said.

Click image or link to read the news story - https://www.hilltimes.com/story/2026/02/28/failed-asylum-seeker-motion-shows-conservatives-smelled-blood-in-the-water-with-minister-immigration-as-wedge-issue-say-politicos/493465/