By Cymry Gomery, Coordinator, Montreal for a World BEYOND War, August 30, 2024
You can’t run, you can’t hide—we know about the $83 mn in explosives you send for genocide.
Early morning, Thursday, August 29th, as General Dynamics employees were arriving for work, about 60 protesters converged in front of the premises, waving flags, chanting, and handing out pamphlets. The reason for their visit? To denounce the fact that Quebec arms manufacturer General Dynamics has accepted a new contract to manufacture weapons that will be used to further Israel’s ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine.
The Maple broke the news on August 15th that the U.S. government had named Quebec company General Dynamics as the principle contractor for a “possible” $61-million U.S. sale of high explosive mortar cartridges and related equipment to Israel. These are the weapons that have been, and continue to be, used to bomb, kill and maim innocent people, many of them children, in Gaza.
The value of the potential sale, which has been approved by the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is equal to approximately $83 million Canadian.
Activists propose a more evocative version for the General Dynamics brand in Repentigny on August 29th
The GD facility is in front of a fairly steady flow of traffic, and many motorists honked their support as they passed by. The building is also in front of a traffic light, so activists were able to distribute flyers to waiting drivers as well.
Transformation facility
Some police were on hand, but they did not interfere with the protest. Perhaps they were rendered ambivalent by the sight of what actually is being produced by the General Dynamics facility—dead babies and children, grieving families, and war crimes…
Arms-laundering tactic
However, it is important to point out that General Dynamics itself is only one of the Canadian war profiteers feeding at the trough in this ongoing genocide. Justin Trudeau’s government, particularly Melanie Joly as Minister of Foreign Affairs, have frequently lied and misled the public about the permits being issued to Canadian companies selling arms sales to Israel. For example, they have frequently stated that Canada is permitting only “non-lethal” equipment to go to Israel, but this obscures the truth—that Canada is “arms-laundering” lethal weapons, like the explosives in this latest sale, by sending them first to the US—which then packages them with other equipment and sends them on to Israel. Thus, the sale is on the books as a US-Israel transaction, but Canadian companies are profiting and Canada is complicit. In war crimes.
“A terrorist arming company”
A few participants took to the mic, calling General Dynamics a “terrorist-arming company” with “blood on your hands.” One speaker pointed out all the ways that Canada is hypocritical about its complicity in Israel’s war crimes: “Israel is committing a genocide so clearly; Israel is an occupation of the Palestinian land; Israel is an Apartheid state; Israel has violated human rights laws; [there have been] ten UN resolutions against it, that all amounted to nothing due to the US veto and protection that Israel gets from around the world. And Canada, even though it said that it wants to see an immediate ceasefire, and wants to end the war, continues to fund Israel, and find ways to do it, while breaking international law, while breaking its UN treaty.”
Growing resistance
Palestinian solidarity is growing in Quebec, with local “for Palestine” groups springing up like mushrooms after a spring rain. Similarly, coalitions of resistance, comprising union workers, the Palestinian diaspora, peace groups, human rights advocates of all faiths, and caring civilians, among others, have formed… arms dealers and war profiteers take note!
Arms embargo now! Ceasefire now!
Resistance will continue to grow
