Today, the Carney government joined the Conservatives and the Bloc to defeat Jenny Kwan’s No More Loopholes Bill — legislation that would have stopped Canadian weapons sent to the U.S. from being used to fuel the genocide in Gaza.
It’s a deeply shameful vote that suggests they would rather appease Trump than protect vulnerable civilians.
But this moment also shows why voices like Jenny Kwan and her colleagues in the NDP caucus matter so much. They continue to champion human rights, peace, and international justice with courage and persistence, even when few others in Parliament will.
Millions of Canadians share that vision. They want Canada to be a force for peace, not a junior arms dealer.
This is exactly why our country needs the NDP.
#cdnpoli #gaza #NDP
First of all, it’s the principle of not participating in a literal fucking genocide. Second, Americans can do what they want to do without Canada continuing to send weapons to them to commit atrocities. Seems like a really low bar for anybody with even a shred of moral integrity.
The No More Loopholes Act was a ‘just pretend’ act to make it look like some MPs were doing something about it, Why? For the ‘principal’? The optics? So their conscience could be clear? ‘Well, we tried’. The Act was toothless, there was no way the US government would have paid it any heed. They commenced the Iranian bombing action without even warning Canadian soldiers on the US bases so they could evacuate ahead of time. Just went ahead and left our soldiers in danger. You think they would ever be choosy about the ammunition they used?
That our government is pragmatic and considers that it is not worth poking the tiger on passing a frivolous act that will antagonize the US, provoke Trump into a retaliatory vendetta, yet accomplish no meaningful objective.
It will never cease to amaze how easy it is for some people to make excuses for participating in a genocide. Saying I will not be part of a genocide is itself a meaningful objective, and if you do not understand this simple truth then you’re truly lost.
I understand the pragmatics of dealing with Trump. A wise statesman picks their battles. Saying ‘I will not be part of a genocide’ when you can’t do anything about it is hardly a meaningful objective, unless the objective is a photo op, which it appears to be in this case. In such cases, talk is useless against a madman. It rarely does anything to actually stop the genocide. But hey, if you smile for the photo op, it might convince the gullible that you are doing something.
Exactly how would the Canadian government be able to enforce it? The Americans will do what the Americans are going to do.
First of all, it’s the principle of not participating in a literal fucking genocide. Second, Americans can do what they want to do without Canada continuing to send weapons to them to commit atrocities. Seems like a really low bar for anybody with even a shred of moral integrity.
It’s the principle? So we just pretend, and our conscience is clear
We just pretend what? Seems to me that the argument you’re trying to make here is if we don’t facilitate the genocide, then somebody else will.
The No More Loopholes Act was a ‘just pretend’ act to make it look like some MPs were doing something about it, Why? For the ‘principal’? The optics? So their conscience could be clear? ‘Well, we tried’. The Act was toothless, there was no way the US government would have paid it any heed. They commenced the Iranian bombing action without even warning Canadian soldiers on the US bases so they could evacuate ahead of time. Just went ahead and left our soldiers in danger. You think they would ever be choosy about the ammunition they used?
And yet, the fact of the matter remains that we couldn’t even pass this performative and toothless act. What does that say about our government?
That our government is pragmatic and considers that it is not worth poking the tiger on passing a frivolous act that will antagonize the US, provoke Trump into a retaliatory vendetta, yet accomplish no meaningful objective.
It will never cease to amaze how easy it is for some people to make excuses for participating in a genocide. Saying I will not be part of a genocide is itself a meaningful objective, and if you do not understand this simple truth then you’re truly lost.
I understand the pragmatics of dealing with Trump. A wise statesman picks their battles. Saying ‘I will not be part of a genocide’ when you can’t do anything about it is hardly a meaningful objective, unless the objective is a photo op, which it appears to be in this case. In such cases, talk is useless against a madman. It rarely does anything to actually stop the genocide. But hey, if you smile for the photo op, it might convince the gullible that you are doing something.
We manage it with every country we trade weapons with except the US.
We PRETEND to manage it with every other country,
Good enough for the law to apply equally.
What exactly does that mean? The egalitarian paradox - the more equally the law is applied, the more dis-equal they become.
We should at least pretend to hold the US to the same standard as everyone else.
Pretending anything when it comes to the US can be a very dangerous thing, especially when you act on that ‘pretend’.
Do you want equal treatment, or equal outcomes? You can never have both in international relations.