Media Release
Eslha7an - Unceded Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and Musqueam Territory/North Vancouver - Today, North Vancouver-Capilano constituents slammed Jonathan Wilkinson’s appointment as Canada’s Ambassador to the European Union over his unconscionable and callous inaction on Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
“Since Fall 2023, we’ve met with Jonathan Wilkinson and his staff dozens of times to beg him to take action to address Canada’s role in the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” said Hassan Merali, a member of North Shore For Palestine and former member of Wilkinson’s constituency youth council. “Jonathan has repeatedly ignored his constituents’ pleas, taking the route of cowardice and indifference on Palestine, while miraculously finding his voice on more politically expedient international issues like the war in Ukraine.”
North Shore For Palestine has protested outside Wilkinson’s office dozens of time to draw attention to his complicity in the ongoing genocide, which has both a personal and professional dimension: Wilkinson’s financial disclosures show that either he or his spouse owns stock in Lockheed Martin.
Despite repeated admissions by Wilkinson’s office staff that the overwhelming majority of requests coming into his office about the issue were to stand up for Palestine, Wilkinson repeatedly refused to amplify his constituents’ concerns or apply any sort of public pressure on Israel, the United States, or Canada, even after he lost his seat at the cabinet table and could no longer use that as an excuse.
This culminated in his absolutely shameful vote against Jenny Kwan’s Private Member’s Bill, the No More Loopholes Act, which would have amended Canada’s export controls regime to bring it into compliance with Canada’s obligations under both Canadian and international law to not export products that could be used to commit war crimes. Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act of 2000 explicitly codifies these obligations in Canadian law.
In spite of Wilkinson’s and the Liberals’ claim that a non-binding parliamentary motion in 2024 stopped Canadian weapons being sent to Israel, anti-war organizations and journalists have repeatedly shown that Canada still lets Canadian companies sell technology and components used in weapons to the United States, where they are inserted into weapons and technology that the United States sells to the Israeli military.
“When Jonathan ran for office, he promised to be North Vancouver’s voice in Ottawa, not Ottawa’s voice in North Vancouver - but when it came to it, Jonathan repeatedly hid behind his cabinet role, saying that his hands were tied, only to continue doing nothing on Palestine after he was left out of cabinet last year,” said Merali. “Jonathan’s double-standard when it comes to applying international law to Western countries will be put to good use in his new role as Canada’s Ambassador to the EU.”
For more information, please contact:
Hassan Merali
North Shore For Palestine
Phone Number: 778 580-7967
E-mail Address:
northshore4palestine.org
North Shore For Palestine is a diverse group of Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and non-religious constituents on the North Shore that have been organizing to end Israel’s genocide in Palestine and Canada’s role in it.