Letter sent on June 5, 2023

To: Bill Blair <bill.blair@parl.gc.ca>, Chrystia Freeland <fin.minfinance-financemin.fin@canada.ca>, Jonathan Wilkinson <jonathan.wilkinson@parl.gc.ca>, Guilbeault Steven <ec.ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca>, Anita Anand <anita.anand@parl.gc.ca>, Justin Trudeau <justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca>, Melanie Joly <melanie.joly@international.gc.ca> </melanie.joly@international.gc.ca></justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca></anita.anand@parl.gc.ca></ec.ministre-minister.ec@canada.ca></jonathan.wilkinson@parl.gc.ca></fin.minfinance-financemin.fin@canada.ca></bill.blair@parl.gc.ca>

Cc: Carolyn Bennett <carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca>, Pierre Polievre <pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca>, Jagmeet Singh <jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca>, Yves-Francois Blanchet <yves-francois.blanchet@parl.gc.ca>, Elizabeth May <elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca></elizabeth.may@parl.gc.ca></yves-francois.blanchet@parl.gc.ca></jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca></pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca></carolyn.bennett@parl.gc.ca>

Subject: safety, security, budgetary prudence?

Dear Prime Minister, Dear Ministers,

I hope you and cabinet will take time to reflect on the wisdom of some of the decisions you have made at budget time and continue to make day to day.

Will fighter jets provide Canadians more security than water bombing planes?

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Thank you to Britain’s Peace Pledge Union

for publishing the history of the International Conscientious Objectors’ Day, originally published in Housmans Peace Diary https://www.ppu.org.uk/remembrance/history-international-conscientious-objectors-day

Conscience Canada welcomes new members. Our AGM takes place Saturday, April 29, beginning at 15:30 Eastern (12:30 Pacific) via zoom. After a fairly short administrative section, we look forward to learning about a successful outreach effort by board member Linda Thyer. This will be followed by discussion of the role of conscience in our society and how Conscience Canada can be of service. To participate, please send an email to info@consciencecanada.ca.

Dear Prime Minister Mr. Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Ms. Freeland, Dear Revenue Minister Ms. Lebouthillier, Dear Party Leaders, Dear TSP MP Ms. Bennett,

As with every taxation year for a very long time now, along with my Government Tax Return I file my Peace Tax Return. In the absence of a governmental possibility to redirect to life sustaining initiatives the taxes that go to the military and to the destruction of human and other-than-human life on earth, I have arranged my financial matters in a way that I do not contribute to these destructive expenditures. I have actually redirected all my taxable income to organizations that provide reparation for the results of the distorted government spending priorities.

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This statement is valuable in that required a lengthy debate process among board members who were in deep disagreement over the origins of the war and its resolution.
The debate can continue 🙂 For instance, it begins, “Science for Peace condemned the invasion of Ukraine last year as we have denounced all resort to force to settle political disputes around the world.” It can be convincingly argued that there are legitimate forms of “force”, as Leonard Desroches did in this powerful excerpt from his book, “Love of Enemy” https://www.consciencecanada.ca/?p=34 .

Find the Science for Peace statement here: https://www.scienceforpeace.org/post/ending-the-war-in-ukraine .

The MOVEMENT and the “MADMAN” will premiere on PBS as a special presentation of the American Experience series on Tuesday, March 28 at 9 pm / 8 pm (CT). View the film on your local PBS station (check your local listings) or streaming on PBS.org during and after the broadcast.
Check out the teaser here: https://www.movementandthemadman.com/

World Beyond War (WBW) is offering an online, self-paced course on the realationship between 2 existential threats: war and environmental catastrophe, culminating in an emphasis on “what can be done”. You can register for the course here: https://worldbeyondwar.org/war-and-the-environment-april-10-may-22-2023-online-course-registration/ .

Check the https://worldbeyondwar.org/ site to see other education & action opportunities.

Starting March 6, 2023, Science for Peace and Voice of Women for Peace will be co-hosting a three-part webinar series: ‘Nonviolence: The Tactics and Strategies of Winning Campaigns’. Each session will feature a brief, documentary film on a significant and effective nonviolent campaign. In the discussion following the film, a Facilitator, supported by a Guest Expert, will assist members of the audience in thinking through the strategic and tactical lessons for effective nonviolent action that the successful campaign suggests.

Register via scienceforpeace.org or at this link: https://tinyurl.com/2s3smewb .

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Recent McGill graduate Carley Dove-McFalls writes:”Trudeau’s government is using our tax dollars to exacerbate violence in the world and we will do everything in our power to stop this unacceptable behaviour. People are suffering; the Canadian government must stop using empty words and PR campaigns to absolve themselves from the harm they are inflicting on the entirety of the population (and particularly on Indigenous peoples) and the environment.”

Read her article in full here: https://www.scienceforpeace.org/post/min-guilbeault-there-is-no-canadian-climate-leadership-without-canceling-the-f-35-fighter-jet

Our Peace Tax Return offers a way to challenge this hypocrisy. https://www.consciencecanada.ca/?page_id=132

Conscience Canada has signed the DefendtheAtlantaForest solidarity statement & we encourage others to do likewise. (Sign here: https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/solidarity/ )

On Jan. 18, forest defender Manuel Esteban Paez Teran was killed (shot 13 times by police).

As the statement explains, “The struggle that is playing out in Atlanta is a contest for the future. As the catastrophic effects of climate change hammer our communities with hurricanes, heat waves, and forest fires, the stakes of this contest are clearer than ever. It will determine whether those who come after us inherit an inhabitable Earth or a police state nightmare. It is up to us to create a peaceful society that does not treat human life as expendable.”