“Canada Stop Arming Israel”: Workers Block Entrance to Toronto Company Arming Israeli Military

By World BEYOND War, October 30, 2023

(Toronto, Ontario) Canada must stop arming Israel, said a coalition of over 100 workers and organizations who are blocking the entrances to the manufacturing plant and global headquarters for Toronto-based company INKAS.

“We refuse to stand by as businesses in our neighborhoods and across Canada are arming and making a fortune off of carnage in Gaza and the massacre of thousands of Palestinians,” said Rachel Small, organizer with World BEYOND War. “And so we’re here, blocking these entrances, to send the message that Canada must not only call for a ceasefire but also cut off the flow of weapons to Israel.”

Specializing in security and defense, INKAS highlights in press materials that their Israeli division has “supplied the government of Israel with more command & control units than any other supplier in history.” This is against the backdrop of Canada awarding 315 permits for a total of $21.3 million worth of military goods and technology exported to Israel in 2022.

“We’re here in response to the call from Palestinian workers for an end to arming Israel,” said Simon Black with Labour Against the Arms Trade. “Unions in Canada have repeatedly called for an arms embargo on Israel and for an end to Israeli occupation and apartheid.”

“Workers in Canada do not want their labour used in service of ethnic cleansing. We demand that Canada cease arms sales to Israel,” said Anna Lippman, from Labour for Palestine. “Labour unions have historically led the fight for human rights both in Canada and globally. Today we show up again and demand our politicians stop funding genocide.”

The groups are calling on allies to tell Canada’s Members of Parliament and key ministers to end the sale of arms to Israel using this online action: https://worldbeyondwar.org/CanadaStopArmingIsrael/

Follow twitter.com/wbwCanada and twitter.com/LAATCanada for photos, videos, and updates during the blockade.

18 Responses

  1. Brilliant! Well done, Toronto WBW.
    It’s outrageous that in just its first two weeks of bombing Gaza, those oh-so-courageous IDF pilots killed more children than Putin has in his two-year war.
    Netanyahu no more represents Israel’s people than Putin does Russia’s.

  2. The huge urgency is to stop slaughter in Palestine. And Ukraine. And … Meanwhile death & destruction are bonanza for arms companies investors. Where does this keep going? Can’t we (in Canada) ask that Canadian military weapons and services companies be removed (expropriated) from private sector? Can’t Canada require that no Canadian citizen or organization invest in foreign arms industries?

    1. Uh…you wanna stop the Ukraine thing? Get a time machine, and stop Operation Paperclip, Operation Gladio, etc.

  3. Praises to these courageous people!! I pray for then and others speaking truth and standing for justice for the Palestenian people, and that will work out for also saving the Isreal people and Americals from committing such atrocious acts. The injustice has been going in for years by u.s a. And Isreal toward the Palestanians. God be with us all for stopping this invasion and bringing true Peace….as well as in Ukrine!

  4. INKAS is not even mentioned as one of Ontario’s top armaments producers. The province of Ontario defence industries made $5.1 billion from the sale of armaments or armed forces equipment last year. It has 3 of the world’s top 5 defence companies. Ontrio has over 14000 people employed by these companies. Here is a list of other arms producers:
    Babcock Canada
    BMT Fleet
    Clearpath Robotics
    CMC Electronics
    Collins Aerospace
    Colt Canada
    Curtiss Wright
    DEW Engineering and Development
    Fellfab
    Field Aviation
    General Dynamics Land Systems Canada
    General Dynamics Mission Systems
    Honeywell
    IMT Defence
    L-3 Harris Technologies
    Leonardo DRS Technologies
    Lockheed Martin Canada
    Magellan Aerospace
    NP Aerospace
    Precision Castparts
    Raytheon Canada
    Rheinmetall
    Rolls-Royce
    Teledyne FLIR
    Thales

  5. Hamas Official Mousa Abu Marzouk: The Tunnels in Gaza Were Built to Protect Hamas Fighters, Not Civilians; Protecting Gaza Civilians Is the Responsibility of the U.N. and Israel.
    Victims in Gaza are the result of inhumane and irresponsible behaviour by Hamas and its patrons in Qatar and Iran.
    Free Gaza from Hamas! Stop war crimes by Hamas!

  6. How can anyone with an ounce of humanity support a genocide – killing unarmed civilians including old men, women and children? Do whatever you can to stop the horror. Don’t let it carry on in your name.

  7. How can you support pro-palestinian demonstrators who are calling for the destruction of another country? From the river to the sea means exactly that

    1. it couldalso mean Palestine that existed before 1948. with Jews Christians and Moslems will be again as it was with no discrimination against people because of their relegion or ethinticity.
      This was also written in the founding of Israel that it was a land for everybody not just Jews.

    2. “Israel” isn’t a country, it’s an occupation. Nobody is saying anyone has to leave…unless they continue to oppress Palestine. Then, they have to leave. Duh.

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