Media Release: Call for Immediate Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and a Permanent Arms Embargo on Israel

July 31 2025

The London and District Labour Council and the London Council of Canadians Chapter Join with Labour and Social Justice Organizations to Call for Immediate Humanitarian Aid to Gaza and a Permanent Arms Embargo on Israel

The London and District Labour Council and the London Council of Canadians chapter call for immediate humanitarian aid to Gaza to end the genocide, which Human Rights Watch Now has confirmed is a deliberate campaign of extermination.  We join the Canadian Labour Congress and the Ontario Federation of Labour to urge the federal government to take immediate action to do the following:

1.      To restore humanitarian aid to Gaza and implement a permanent ceasefire;

2.      To recognize the genocide in Gaza and to hold Israeli officials accountable through the International Court of Justice, to which Canada is a signatory under the Genocide Convention;

3.      To implement sanctions against the Israeli government for violations of international law;

4.      To implement an immediate and permanent arms embargo on Israel; and

5.      Formal unconditional recognition of the State of Palestine.

“We must raise our voices clearly and unequivocally to demand that humanitarian aid is restored to Palestinians in Gaza, and the horrific starvation campaign is ended,” says Patti Dalton, President of the London and District Labour Council.  “We also join the International Trade Union Confederation to condemn the violent assault on labour leader Chris Smalls, who was detained and brutalized by Israeli forces that prevented the Handala Flotilla ship from delivering critical aid such as food and medicine to Palestinians in Gaza.”  

While the announcement yesterday by the Prime Minister Mark Carney is noted in terms of the commitment to formal recognition of the State of Palestine, Canadian made weapons parts and military components have continued to go to Israel, despite denials by the Federal Government.

“We know that Israel wants Palestinian land for housing for Israelis, and it wants the natural gas that is under Palestinian land and sea,” says Norah Fraser, Co-chair of the London Chapter of the Council of Canadians. “Palestine belongs to Palestinians, not Israel. The killing must stop; the displacements must stop. Palestine must be allowed to exist and to develop its resources to benefit Palestinians.”  

The Council of Canadians recently signed the Madleen Declaration, which links the many issues and powers at play in the region.