(An open letter to MP Sophie Chatel)
Congratulations on your re-election in Pontiac–Kitigan Zibi. I pray for your meaningful engagement and success as you continue to serve the human and more-than-human inhabitants of our diverse region. I still hope we can one day meet to discuss
important matters.
As I write, nourished by food from my greenhouse, I am acutely aware of the children
in Gaza who have died of starvation, the 500,000 on the brink, and the 1.6 million more facing acute famine. That anyone is still alive after 19 months of bombing and 70 days without food, water, fuel or medicine is a testament to the resilience of the
Palestinian people.
Using starvation as a weapon against civilians is genocide. This famine is not a natural disaster—it is a deliberate, human-inflicted atrocity. It cannot be justified as self-defence. It is time to impose sanctions against the apartheid state of Israel and act to stop the famine.
After Rwanda, Canada championed the idea that all nations share a duty to protect civilians from genocide. The Responsibility to Protect (R2P), which Canada helped develop, states that when a state fails to protect its people from war crimes or genocide, the international community must intervene—including through sanctions, blockades, diplomacy, and, as a last resort, military force.
Israel has occupied Palestinian territories for over 70 years and is responsible for all who live there. It is long past time for Canada to show leadership and intervene, especially
for those in Gaza who are being denied the necessities of life.
Revoking 300 military export permits to Israel was a meaningful step, but as you noted in your last letter to me, older permits remain in place. Canadian military aid continues to reach Israel directly and indirectly. More must be done. It’s time for a two-way arms embargo and full sanctions.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has declared humanitarian aid “non-negotiable.”
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has reminded states of their legal duty to act. On
May 14, the group I’m part of—Canada, Stand Up for Palestinian Children’s Rights—joined
a global call from the Global Centre for R2P to launch a diplomatic humanitarian convoy through Rafah. The aid is waiting at the border. If diplomats showed up to escort it,
lives could be saved.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has a reputation for integrity and effectiveness.
I urge you to speak with her and share the concerns of Canadians who do not want to
be complicit in genocide. Joining a humanitarian convoy would be a bold, compassionate act—one that would make many of us proud to be Canadian.
Please don’t wait. Act now.
Dorothy Herbert,
Gracefield
