By Tkaronto World BEYOND War, April 30, 2025
On Saturday morning, Scarborough constituents and allies occupied both the inside and outside of Minister Gary Anandasangaree’s campaign office—the incumbent MP of Scarborough-Guildwood-Rouge Park, Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs. Constituents demanded that he act to implement a two-way arms embargo on Israel and endorse the 4 additional demands in the Palestine Platform.
Photo by @walterwilliamsphoto
Inside, activists with Scarborough/Rouge Park for Palestine and Tkaronto World BEYOND War were quickly met with resistance from volunteers and Anandasangaree’s campaign manager, who demanded they leave. Within moments of a journalist filming, the campaign manager physically grabbed the journalist’s camera and attempted to force him out, raising concerns about press freedom.
Video by Jay Geerts.
MP Anandasangaree as Attorney General has refused to ensure that Canada is compliant with the ICJ rulings regarding illegal Israeli settlements, or to make sure that Canada takes steps to prevent genocide as per international law. On January 26, 2024, the International Court of Justice found that Palestinian’s rights are plausibly being violated under the Genocide Convention. The court issued preliminary measures to all states, including Canada, that should be implemented.
As Attorney General, Gary is now being sued by two Palestinian-Canadian plaintiffs currently seeking declaratory relief from the government for Canada’s failure in contravention of their Charter rights and of Canada’s obligations under the Genocide Convention to prevent genocide in Gaza.
“By granting declaratory relief to those plaintiffs, Anandasangaree has the power to help bring an end to Canada’s complicity in these atrocities. Yet he chooses to remain silent for his own political gain,” says Pitasanna Shanmugathas, law student.
Photo by @walterwilliamsphoto
An international human rights lawyer, Anandasangaree was instrumental in the Canadian government recognizing the Tamil genocide, highlighting that by doing so it effectively “puts the Sri Lankan government on notice that the international community is no longer going to sit by and watch atrocities take place”.
Meanwhile, in his first year as Minister of Crown-Indigenous Affairs, not a single Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada call to action was completed, with horrifying ongoing harm to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit people across the country. The genocide of Indigenous peoples is ongoing. Indigenous peoples continue to struggle against epidemics, environmental poisoning (including unsafe drinking water), insecure/unsafe housing, food insecurity, police violence, insufficient healthcare and other crises–with the Canadian Government often being involved in perpetrating these harms. As Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations he must commit to putting in place systemic and institutional changes needed to fulfill the Truth and Reconciliation Commission calls to action with emphasis on the legacy calls to action.
Photo by @walterwilliamsphoto
While constituents occupied the office, a rally was simultaneously held outside with speakers from Palestinian and Tamil communities. Despite the exaggerated police presence to remove parties from the office and plaza, protestors maintained their presence rallying support from residents in the surrounding areas.
MP Gary Anandasangaree – we will not allow you to turn away. You must bring an end of Canada’s complicity in the genocide of Palestinians and Indigenous peoples alike. Inaction is not an option.
Photo by @walterwilliamsphoto
One Response
Canadian politicians continue to dance around Israel’s genicidal acts against Palestinians and there is a clear and lingering sense it’s primarily due to politicians with financial or friendship ties with Canadian supporters of Netanyhu’s violent government.
Of course this has to stop, but then Canada’s national media seems even less willing to raise the issue or to delve below the widespread scepticism, lest they be tarred for standing with a nation, Palestine, that our national government won’t even acknowledge as a genuine state.
Some 1,200 Israelis died following the Oct. 2023 Hamas raid in Israel, an issue Canada continues to raise, yet the fact that Israeli forces have killed more than 50,000 women and children in Gaza, since then it seems Canadian politicians wnats to ban any discussion about it.