Conscientious objectors Ernie Wiens and Eric Unger participated in Winnipeg’s Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, one of over 140 around the world. The Pilgrimages are intended to draw attention to the relationship between the atrocities now happening in Gaza and the weapons industry and are inspired by Jesus’ way of healing justice.

The 42km route through Winnipeg symbolically mirrors the walk from Gaza City to Rafah, a journey which Palestinians have been forced to take because of Israel’s military assaults and forced evacuations.

Ernie’s speech in front of Boeing Industries’ Winnipeg factory provides details of Canadian profiteering from war. We have copied it below.

WINNIPEG’S DEFENSE INDUSTRIES

As we walk for peace today, as we walk and pray on this Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage, we recognize the hard reality that we are passing by some nine or ten defense industries right here in our city of Winnipeg. What all these industries have in common is that they are all involved in the production of components and technologies which support war. The defense industry is worldwide, and Winnipeg is a willing contributor supporting multi-billion dollar big name arms manufacturers whose reach extends around the globe. Another truth about the arms industry is that the lines between foe and friend quickly become blurred when money is to be made, and when profit is king ways are found for armaments to flow in many directions. Yes, even to opposing sides in the same conflict.

A recent edition of the Manitoba Aerospace and Defense Directory (published by the provincial government) notes the valuable contribution made by this province’s aerospace and defense sectors.

The directory boasts about the province’s defense industry, noting: “Together they (aerospace and defense) generate $1.6 billion in revenues and create high-value employment opportunities for approximately 5,300 Manitobans.” How can something that sounds so positive for Manitobans contribute to the carnage we see in Gaza on a daily basis? Through our pilgrimage today we want to create awareness of this awful truth and move our collective moral compass in the direction of truth, and justice, and peace.

According to World Beyond War, an anti-war organization with chapters throughout the world, recently reported that weapons companies across Canada are arming and making a fortune off the carnage in Gaza and the massacre of thousands of Palestinians by selling weapons and military technology to Israel. Specifically, Canada awarded 315 permits for a total of $21.3 million worth of military goods and technology exported to Israel in 2022. These included bombs, torpedoes, rockets, missiles and other explosive devices. Moreover, from October to December in 2023, Canada authorized a record- breaking amount of export permits to Israel-at least 28.5 million dollars, more than in all of 2021 or 2022.

Recently, South Africa made a plausible case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. On Friday, Feb.23 the UN called for an immediate arms embargo, specifically calling out Canadian arms exports and reminding officials involved in the weapons trade that they may be criminally liable for aiding and abetting war crimes. Yet Canada has continued to refuse an arms embargo on Israel. Through our pilgrimage today we are calling for an immediate ceasefire and for Canada to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

The weapons industry operates in numerous provinces in Canada, in many states in the U.S. and is a very intertwined and interconnected industry. Six of the largest military corporations include Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, General Dynamics and L3Harris. Their 2022 revenue from military contracting topped $210.5 billion. Their facilities are spread far and wide, and contracts are often sub-awarded to Canadian branches.

One example is the Boeing plant here in Winnipeg, the largest aerospace composite manufacturer in Canada. This plant has over 700,000 square feet of floor space and employs some 1500 people. Boeing is headquartered in Chicago, with other important production facilities outside of Los Angeles, Seattle and St. Louis. It is the world’s fifth largest weapons manufacturer, producing F-15 fighter jets and Apache AH-64 attack helicopters, which the Israeli Air Force has used extensively in all its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, including in 2023.

Boeing also manufactures multiple types of unguided small diameter bombs and Attack Munition kits, which convert these bombs into precision-guided munitions. Israel has been using these bombs extensively, including in a Nov.1 bombing of Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, which killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians and could amount to a war crime, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. On Oct.10 and 22, the Israeli military used bombs equipped with Boeing Attack kits to carry out what Amnesty International calls “unlawful air strikes on homes of civilians in the occupied Gaza Strip.” The attacks, which could amount to a war crime, killed 24 people of the al-Najar family and 19 people of the Abu Mu’eiliq family.

A short distance from here our route takes us by another defense industry – Magellan Aerospace at 660 Berry St. – which is directly linked to death and destruction in Gaza. According to a Project Ploughshares report, Magellan Aerospace manufactures wing components for the F-35I Joint Strike Fighter, which has reportedly been used in the ongoing bombardment of Gaza. Project Ploughshares has a critical concern on this matter. According to a recent Project Ploughshares report: “The gravity of this situation calls for immediate action to ensure Canada is meeting its domestic and international obligations to mitigate the risk of contributing to violations of international law, for example, violations of international humanitarian law(IHL), including possible war crimes in Gaza. Given the substantial risk that Canadian military goods contribute to such abuses in Gaza, Canada must immediately halt all transfers of weapons to Israel. (Fanning the Flames by Kelsey Gallagher – updated January 18,2024) Clearly, this is all the more reason why those of us on this pilgrimage, as well as all Winnipeggers and Manitobans should call for a ceasefire, arms embargo, and a long-term peace based on international law.

Just over a year ago Canada’s Defense Minister stated that “approximately three thousand F-35’s are forecast to be produced for partners and allies across the world – and every one of those jets will also include Canadian components – from landing gear parts, to engine parts, to software – making the F-35 a testament to Canada’s world-class aerospace and defense industry.”
Tell that to a child, mother, father, aid worker, or health care provider in Gaza today! We are here today because the cries from Gaza drown out all possible pride in Canada’s Defense Industry. And so we continue on this Gaza Peace Pilgrimage.