"If the Carney government is serious about human rights, it must impose a full arms embargo on Israel, ending all military trade; suspend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement; formally recognize the state of Palestine; call out Israel’s genocide in Gaza and demand accountability at the International Court of Justice."
July 10, 2025
Re: "Action must follow Canada’s tone shift on Gaza"
Ketty Nivyabandi’s powerful July 10 letter rightly calls on Canada to match its statement in May regarding Israel’s military assault on Gaza with concrete action—including an arms embargo, trade restrictions, and recognition of Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. Her demand for accountability aligns with growing public outrage over Canada’s complicity in Israel’s atrocities.
While Canada’s recent sanctions on two Israeli officials and its joint warning with France and the UK mark an overdue shift, they remain woefully inadequate. Canada continues to permit the transfer of military goods to Israel, despite overwhelming evidence of war crimes and genocide. This fact is underscored in the latest report from Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, entitled From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, which explicitly names the Canadian government’s role in supplying arms to Israel’s war machine.
Ottawa’s refusal to even name this genocide betrays its obligations under the Genocide Convention. It also makes a mockery of Canada’s own pledge to Truth and Reconciliation, exposing how little this government has moved beyond its colonial past. When history judges this moment, there will be no excuse of ignorance—only complicity.
The urgency cannot be overstated. Since March, Israel’s blockade has weaponized starvation, killing thousands more Palestinians while the world’s leaders look away. Canada’s silence on Israel’s systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, including targeted attacks on hospitals and paramedics, further underscores its moral failure.
If the Carney government is serious about human rights, it must impose a full arms embargo on Israel, ending all military trade; suspend the Canada-Israel Free Trade Agreement; formally recognize the state of Palestine; call out Israel’s genocide in Gaza and demand accountability at the International Court of Justice.
History will judge Canada not for its statements, but for its actions. Palestinians cannot wait any longer.
Sincerely,
Nikki Mutch