Category: Canada

Open letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme

Open letter to RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme

Dear Commissioner Duheme:

Why have you not publicly announced your investigation into those Canadians and Canadian organizations who have participated in Israel’s genocide under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Program?

Where is the RCMP hotline?

Where is the dedicated RCMP webpage?

Where are the RCMP media interviews denouncing such breaches of Canadian Law?

Where are the RCMP questionnaires soliciting witness testimony from those trying to flee Israel, and/or the families that have not been able to get their loved ones out of danger?

You have done so much for the Ukrainians.

Why have you done so little for the besieged Palestinian civilians? Why isn’t the RCMP providing the same level of assistance to the victims of Israel’s genocide in Gaza?

Palestinians are being bombed and buried under the rubble of their homes.

Palestinians sheltering in schools have been blown up.

Palestinians are being burned to death in tents in refugee camps.

Palestinians are being starved, and then shot when trying to get humanitarian aid to feed their families?

Palestinians have been forced to evacuate of Gaza hospitals, sometimes leaving premature babies to die alone.

Palestinian medical professionals and their patients have had their hands ziptied and been bulldozed into mass graves in hospital courtyards.

Palestinian toddlers have been targeted and shot in both the chest and the head according to MSF doctors trying to save them.

In March of 2024 the UN determined that more children had been killed in Gaza in less than 6 months than all the children killed in four years of conflict in the rest of the world.

The International Court of Justice has ruled Israel’s occupation of Gaza illegal.

Unlike Ukrainians, the people of Palestine have no air force, or air defence, nor do they have an army or navy with which to defend themselves from Israel’s sophisticated aerial bombers, fighter jets, naval vessels, army tanks, artillery, and killer drones.

Palestinian Hospitals, Ambulances and medical workers are being targeted, and killed

Palestinian Journalists are being targeted and killed.

Humanitarian Aid Workers are being targeted and killed.

Foreign media are locked out of Palestine, and yet there are many Canadians volunteering in the IDF, killing Palestinian civilians as part of the Israeli military attack. Canadians like me are helpless as we watch the dehumanization and massacre of innocent Palestinians, often recording their own Genocide in real time.

Why does the RCMP have such a poor track record of applying Canadian law when it comes to Isreal? Is Israel somehow above International Law?

What happened to the formal legal complaint concerning individual Canadians violating the Foreign Enlistment Act by inducing Canadians to join the Israeli military?

I know I am disturbed at the thought Canadians participating in the carnage will be returning home and worse, disregarding Canadian Law because they will feel the same impunity for antisocial behavior here that they had enjoyed in the Middle East.

As Canada’s premier law enforcement Agency, the RCMP must apply the law. Period.

The RCMP should not bow to political pressure or bullying from foreign countries or special interest groups.

Nor should the RCMP’s ties with the IDF influence the service’s enforcement of Canadian Law. Having seen many videos of IDF soldiers routinely mistreating the innocent Indigenous population of Palestine, and learning Canadian law enforcement agencies send their members to be “trained” in Israel, perhaps such “training” has influenced RCMP scandals in which innocent civilians and Indigenous people have been similarly mistreated.

Canadian politicians claimed our nation is a Rule of Law country. But failure to enforce Canadian laws when it comes to friends like Israel undermines the credibility of both the Government of Canada and the RCMP.

Why should Canadians respect (much less follow) Canadian Law if the RCMP fails to enforce it?

There are no good reasons– only disturbing possible reasons – for RCMP’s failure to investigate and enforcing Israel’s violations of Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act with the same vigor the RCMP has employed in respect of similar breaches of International Law in respect of Russian activity in the Ukraine.

This is not a good look for a nation that prides itself for its diversity.

Especially when civilians in Gaza are enduring an active genocide.

If none of the above is of concern to the RCMP, perhaps the prospect of being charged with complicity for failure to enforce appropriate Canadian Humanitarian Laws at the International Court of Justice and/or the International Criminal Court should be of concern.

As a Canadian citizen, I must insist your agency should do its job.

Sincerely,
Laurel L Russwurm

_________________________________________________
My letter began with the the letter sponsored by Just Peace Activists and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute on the Action Network’s The RCMP must investigate Israeli War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity letter campaign.

They’ve provided a form letter (at the link below) which participants can send as is, or add to or edit as I a have. I encourage you to click the link below and send your own letter. In a democracy, even as poor a democracy as ours, we must hold our institutions accountable.

Free Palestine!

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/rcmp-investigates-israeli-crimes-demand-they-apply-law

Election Night in Canada

I am posting this final “Preliminary Election Result” table posted on the Elections Canada website on Election Night (April 28th, 2025) because they always remove the easily understandable table at some point after the election. The numbers will change/have changed as some polls are challenged and/or recounted, but this is what the data looked like at that point in time.

Registered Political PartySeats%Votes%
Animal Protection Party00.0 %1,2990.0 %
Bloc Québécois226.4 %1,232,8536.3 %
Centrist00.0 %4,1470.0 %
Canada First Party00.0 %3,1980.0 %
Christian Heritage Party00.0 %10,1650.0 %
Communist00.0 %5,4620.0 %
Conservative14442.0 %8,086,05141.3 %
Green Party10.3 %244,9521.2 %
Independent00.0 %36,1660.2 %
Liberal16949.3 %8,564,20043.7 %
Libertarian00.0 %6,0010.0 %
Marijuana Party00.0 %1330.0 %
Marxist-Leninist00.0 %5,6480.0 %
NDP (New
Democratic Party)		72.0 %1,237,2636.3 %
No Affiliation00.0 %5,2250.0 %
Rhinocéros 00.0 %7,4570.0 %
People’s Party 00.0 %141,2120.7 %
United Party of Canada (UP)00.0 %6,2420.0 %
Total34319,597,674
Polls Reporting:75,425 of 75,479 99.93 %
Voter Turnout:19,597,674 of
28,525,638
registered
electors 		68.7 %
Source: Elections Canada April 28, 2025 General ElectionElection Results https://enr.elections.ca/National.aspx?lang=e

What’s good about it?

Canadians are lucky that all the frenzied strategic voting didn’t crush us under a majority government. This is always the best outcome, because no minority government has a blank cheque to do whatever they want.

And not so good?

For more than a century, despite the powerful disincentives of our First-Past-the-Post voting system, Canadians have worked very hard to make sure we retained our multi-party democracy.

Just watching what’s been going on south of the border should have driven home exactly why it is so important to keep it.

What’s bad?

But yet again, far too many Canadians were frightened into voting “strategically” for what we don’t want. And the result has been the decimation of our smaller parties. The NDP plummeted from 24 seats to 7, and the Greens lost 2 of their 3 seats. Even the Bloc Québécois lost ten— a third— of their seats, despite the party’s regional advantage. And Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada plummeted from an 840,993 vote high in the last election to a mere 141,212 votes in this.

2025 Canadian Federal Election result map
NDP : Courtenay—Alberni, Vancouver Kingsway, and Vancouver East (BC), Edmonton Strathcona (Alberta), Nunavut, Winnipeg Centre (Manitoba), Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie (Montreal, PQ) | Green: Saanich—Gulf Islands

There isn’t a single NDP seat in Ontario, for the first time in I don’t know how many elections. In recent months I’ve heard folks on both sides of the spectrum complain about the NDP for one reason or another.

Yet we have Mr Singh to thank for the fledgling National Universal Pharmacare and the Canadian Dental Care Plan. This was a gift of epic proportions, much like the gift of Universal Healthcare— for which we can thank an earlier NDP led by Tommy Douglas.

That same Universal Healthcare may be the only thing Canadians agree on across the political spectrum, and we’ve all grumbled as we watched it erode, thanks to successive Liberal and Conservative funding cuts and privatization. But just think; if instead of voting “lesser evil,” we had just voted for what we want, like, say, for Green or NDP candidates, by now we could have had a world class Universal Healthcare system to rival those in countries advanced enough to elect their governments with Proportional Representation.

I was very happy to learn Heather McPherson had retained her seat in Alberta, but sad that the riding off Hamilton Centre lost Matthew Green’s strong voice.

But for me, personally, the biggest loss in this election was that of Ontario’s only Green Party MP, Mike Morrice, in Kitchener Centre.

I can’t imagine any MP working harder than Mike Morrice has. He led the fight for the Canadian Disability Benefit, as well as being a strong advocate for needed improvements to our Universal Health Care system, access to affordable housing, giving voice to marginalized communities, standing up for Indigenous rights, reminding the Canadian government of its legal obligations not to be complicit in genocide and Israel’s other war crimes, working for Electoral Reform, and of course meaningful climate action. I certainly hope Mike will win back his seat in the next election.

Thank you, Mike.

Image Credits:
2025 Canadian Federal Election Map By Eric0892 – Own work, CC BY 4.0, Link

Screencap: Mike Morrice delivering petition e-4082 in Parliament [fair dealing – ParlVU ]

Instagram post excerpt by Mike Morrice

CKMS Meet The Candidate

Cambridge Greens: Vote Lux Burgess

“I’m running because my family’s future—and the future of all families—means everything to me. I want my loved ones to grow up in a world that’s safe, healthy, and full of opportunity. But with rising costs, and growing inequality, that future is at risk.

“I can’t just sit back and hope things get better—I want to be part of the solution. That’s why I’m fighting for real climate action, a fair economy, and stronger support for families.

“This isn’t just politics — it’s personal. It’s about protecting the people and places we love for generations to come.”
— Lux Burgess, 2025 Cambridge Green Party candidate

Even though time constraints prevented Lux from making it onto CKMS this time around, you can still catch his appearance in the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Debate below. I especially like the fact that we’re *still* talking about #Electoral Reform. And that the lack of it inspires excellent candidates like Lux Burgess to seriously challenge complacent incumbents like MP Bryan May. https://luxburgess.ca/campaign/index.php/blog/

Hey Kitchener Centre: don’t forget to ReElect Mike Morrice!

If you haven’t already voted at one of the Advance Polls, do not forget Monday, April 28th, 2025 is ELECTION DAY 2025.  Just because you know Mike Morrice is the best Member of Parliament Kitchener Centre has ever had, it is no reason to be complacent.  

Not so long ago, an incumbent city councillor in this very community lost an election by a single vote. It wasn’t even that people felt it was tie for a change. It was that everyone expected her to be re-elected by a landslide, that her voters felt no real sense of urgency to get out and vote.

One vote is really the difference between winning and losing representation in countries still using terrible winner-take-all voting systems like ours. Don’t let your opportunity to vote slip away!

It took a very long time to get a local Green MP elected locally. Help make sure he is re-elected!

Like any Green MP, Mike doesn’t just represent the constituents in his own riding, he provides a vouce to otherwise disfranchised Greens across the country. I’m in Kitchener—Conestoga, yet he supported and presented my Petition e-4802 in Parliament. So even if you’re not exactly in Mike’e riding, there is still time to help out by volunteering or donating. Mike’s team will keep working as hard to re-elect Mike as Mike works for us in Ottawa until the very last minute. If getting to the polling station is a problem, you can even call the office and they’ll arrange transportation for you… no matter who you ‘re planning on voting for. And if you haven’t already, you can listen to Mike on CKMS radio:

Kitchener—Conestoga Greens

Unfortunately there was a hitch in our candidate’s registration, so we were unable to secure a Green candidate in Kitchener—Conestoga for this 2025 election. ☹

Kitchener South—Hespeler: Vote Ethan Russell

Kitchener South—Hespeler candidate Ethan Russell will make another excellent Green MP for Waterloo Region. The photo above was taken just after Ethan’s CKMS “Meet The Candidate” spot, with show producer (and former Green Party candidate) Bob Jonkman. The air time time was made available to all Waterloo Region candidates, and it is interesting to see which did (or didn’t) show up.

Check out Ethan’s Green Party Page and, of course, listen to his CKMS broadcast here:

Waterloo Greens: Vote Simon Guthrie

We have yet another great Green Party candidate running in Waterloo.

And of course, check out Simon’s CKMS spot!

Find out more about Simon at https://www.simonguthrie.ca/

REMEMBER: Monday April 28th, 2025 is Election Day in Canada

While I would obviously like to see you cast your ballot for the Green Candidate in your riding, I sincerely hope you choose to vote for the candidate who will best represent you. Since my own riding is without a Green Candidate, after checking out the available candidates, I have decided my vote will go to for Bozorgzad, the excellent NDP candidate running in Kitchener—Conestoga.

Overall the opinion polls seem to indicate the Liberals are on track for another majority government. As far as I’m concerned, that would be an most unfortunate outcome. One of the many things wrong with what we call “strategic voting” these days (ie voting for a candidate you don’t want instead of the one you do), is that it helps prop up the First Past The Post two party Liberal/Conservative status quo.

We’re at a point where neither Liberal or Conservative governments can win a faux First Past The Post Majority Governments without all the vote suppression inspired by our Single Member Plurality voting system (which means a party doesn’t need to win a simple majority of the vote to win 100% of the power) and now also propped up by the pressure we unrepresented voters feel to vote “Strategically” for the least worst candidate. That’s not how representative democracy is supposed to work.

But it is the system Justin Trudeau chose over his own ERRE Committee’s recommendation to adopt a solidly Proportional Representation voting system. Because “fear voting” has made it possible for Liberal Governments to dominate our politics for so much of Canada’s history.

Strategic voting doesn’t do what they advertise. If it did, we only would have had to do it once. Giving one party a mandate it can’t earn from a majority of voters a majority of the power doesn’t result in a strong democratic government, the “strength” it produces is autocratic rule that polarizes us all. Even with our inadequate unrepresentative First Past The Post voting system, Canadians can get a lot closer to a representative Representative Democracy by voting for the independent candidates and small parties we actually want to vote for.

If we vote for what we want— regardless of the Opinion Polls, Op Eds and big money with which which defenders of the status quo successfully dominate our political discourse— the diverse Canadian electorate actually has the power to elect nothing but minority governments.

That means electing governments that will actually represent a majority of the voters. It will make governing a lot harder for our elected politicians because they will have to learn to work together instead of painting each other as the boogeyman, but it is the only way (short of Proportional Representation) we can achieve truly strong government supported by most Canadians.

I truly believe in democracy. I trust Canadians to do the right thing. And that starts with voting. And even better, voting for what we want.

Regards,
Laurel Russwurm
Kitchener—Conestoga Greens

Laurel L Russwurm 2024-08-15 12:43:01

I grew up washing dishes with Dish Soap, but Sunlight laundry soap? Never heard of it.

Wikipedia tells us, was "the world's first packaged, branded laundry soap" in 1884, but was was eventually supplanted by modern products made from synthetically produced detergents rather than naturally derived soaps."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight

But if Laundry soap was available in , it was invisible.

But Sunlight dish soap was indispensible.

youtube.com/watch?v=UxkJbC2-Eu

Laurel L Russwurm 2024-07-08 12:57:20

Whatever happened to Canada's devotion to the Rule of Law?
No one should be above the law, whether domestic or International Law.

Please share Khaled Mouammar's important article about the direction of the Canadian Govt's Middle East policy that will impact at home, especially on our lovely protections of Canadian free expression, peaceful protests, and

onedemocraticstateca.wordpress


e-4802: Government Response

Dateline: May 22nd, 2024 – Hot off the Canadian House of Commons digital presses:

Response by the Minister of International Development

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Aniita Vandenbeld

“Canada is deeply concerned about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its impact on the civilian population, which has been internally displaced multiple times and is unable to meet its most basic survival needs.

“Officials are following reports of imminent famine in Northern Gaza and food insecurity across the Strip. Canada continues to advocate for more trucks to be allowed into Gaza and for more entry points to be opened. Canada was the first G7 country to provide support to Gaza after October 7, 2023, and is one of the world’s largest donors of assistance to address the current crisis. Canada has announced $100 million in humanitarian assistance to address the urgent needs of vulnerable civilians in this crisis, including a matching fund of $13,7 million that leveraged the generosity of Canadians.

“Canada also has a firm and consistent track record when it comes to advocating for the protection of civilians in armed conflict, promoting and protecting international humanitarian law, and reinforcing refugee protection, including for Palestinian refugees via UNRWA.  Canada has strongly called all parties to the conflict to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law. The Government of Canada will continue to support civilians with life-saving humanitarian aid, while ensuring that Canadian funds do not go into the hands of Hamas.

“On March 8, 2024, Canada has resumed its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), given the urgent humanitarian situation in Gaza and the significant processes taken to address allegations and reinforce zero tolerance against terrorism within the United Nations (UN) and UNRWA. The decision was based on confidence in the ongoing investigation and review processes; a satisfactory briefing by the UN Secretary General on the interim report of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), and the rigour of the independent review led by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna. UNRWA had already taken immediate steps to strengthen oversight, accountability, and transparency.

“Recognizing UNRWA’s critical role and the reliance of other aid organizations on UNRWA’s experience, infrastructure, and logistical capabilities, and also recognizing the critical and worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, Canada judged that the lifting its pause on UNRWA was well-advised and opportune. As the first country to re-instate funding to UNRWA after having paused, Canada was able to demonstrate leadership in the sphere of humanitarian assistance; several other donors who had paused followed suit. Canada continues to take action to respond to the crisis, including by being a vocal advocate for UNRWA.

“Since March 8, 2024, a number of donors that had previously suspended their funding have since lifted their pause. The list as of May 2, 2024, includes: Australia, Finland, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Sweden.

“Canada has welcomed the final report of the Independent Review Group. We will be closely reviewing the findings and recommendations and will work with fellow donors, the UN and UNRWA to ensure that all recommendations are fully implemented, and the principle of neutrality is fully respected in UNRWA activities.

“Canada is calling for a lasting and sustainable ceasefire. Humanitarian assistance must be able to reach civilians in need. The Government of Canada has reiterated that any ceasefire cannot be one-sided. Hamas must lay down its arms and all hostages must be released. Canada remains firmly committed to a two-state solution. Canada’s position is that there needs to be return to a framework that can best guarantee sustainable peace and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.”


Petition e-4802 goes to Parliament #RestoreUNWRA

My petition closed after its 30 day run with nearly 10k signatures. Here’s our sponsor, Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre MP) presenting it in the House of Commons. https://youtu.be/U2sN4MS96gY

The government has something like 45 days in which to reply.

Thoughts:

In a day or two, the countries that have been pledging financial support for UNWRA pulled their funding because Israel made unfounded…


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Petition e-4802 goes to Parliament #RestoreUNWRA

My petition closed after its 30 day run with nearly 10k signatures. Here’s our sponsor, Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre MP) presenting it in the House of Commons.
https://youtu.be/U2sN4MS96gY

The government has something like 45 days in which to reply.

Thoughts:

In a day or two, the countries that have been pledging financial support for UNWRA pulled their funding because Israel made unfounded accusations about a tiny percentage of UNWRA workers. Months later, many have still not restored funding, even though no evidence to support the allegations has come from Israel.

Why does everybody believe Israel?

If you’re friends with a pathological liar, you need to learn to get the evidence before you believe.

Hey Canadians…

Hey Canadians…

Today’s your last chance to sign Petition e-4802 (at 2:03pm)

asking the Govt of #Canada to:

1. Reinstate Canada’s UNRWA funding; and

2. Advocate other countries do the same, preventing the collapse of UNRWA when needed most.


Our government has waffled on #1 already, and

#2 is still very much needed.

Please sign and share… the clock is ticking!

Keep Signing Petition e-4802

Keep on signing!

On Friday, the Government of Canada finally made an announcement about restoring its pledged UNWRA funding:

News release

March 8, 2024 – Mississauga, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

Canada is deeply concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza that is worsening by the hour. Help must reach civilians as quickly as possible. Canada is working to overcome challenges related to…


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