For over two hours hours on January 15, members of Homes not Bombs and Ottawa Raging Grannies staged a sit-in at the entrance to Global Affairs Canada, demanding a meeting with Chrystia Freeland, with what seemed like a tantalizing proposal: Freeland could, with the stroke of a pen, cancel the $15 billion Saudi weapons contract, provide alternative green employment for affected workers, and end her department’s role as a global weapons broker. The group even brought along a ready-made letter for Freeland to sign!
All national media networks had cameras there, but none chose to report on a two-hour stand-in/sit-in… in fact, according to participants, who included former Canadian UN Ambassador for Disarmament Peggy Mason as well as 92-years-young Loris Jordan (pictured), and Matthew Behrens of Homes Not Bombs, Freeland’s ministry “treated all of us as security threats and denied [us] entry.” Full video coverage of the disappointing encounter are available on the facebook page of Homes not Bombs (https://www.facebook.com/Homes-not-Bombs-Unceded-Algonquin-…) Thank you to the determined Canadian citizens who tried to get Canada out of the arms business… we hope that you never give up!