The St. John’s Telegram reports, “One of three Canadians abducted by Israeli forces from a Canadian ship carrying food and medical supplies destined for Gaza last fall will be speaking in St. John’s next Monday. David Heap, who is also a faculty member in the French Studies and Linguistics program at the University of Western Ontario (as well as a Council of Canadians London chapter activist), will discuss Canada’s role in the blockade of Gaza and offer a firsthand account of what happened on the Tahrir — the ship destined for Gaza.”
“‘It’s one of those issues where it’s a matter of social injustice,’ said Ken Kavanagh, chair of the St. John’s chapter of the Council of Canadians. ‘1.6 million Palestinian civilians are being denied access to food and important medical supplies.’ …’This is one example of a country, Canada, one among many, that (was) trying to (bring) some sort of humanitarian aid to these people,’ said Kavanagh. ‘All they were doing was taking a shipload … of food and medical supplies to people who need it.'”
At its annual general meeting on October 25, 2011, the Council of Canadians passed a resolution resolving that the Council of Canadians: support the Canadian Boat to Gaza to end the illegal blockade of Gaza; call on the Government of Canada, the United Nations and the international community to do everything in their power to ensure the safe passage of the Canadian Boat to Gaza and the safety of all those aboard; call for an end to the blockade of Gaza, in accordance with international law.
The Council of Canadians is supporting this cross-country speaking tour that is calling for an end to the blockade of Gaza. Yesterday, Atlantic organizer Angela Giles attended the forum in Halifax where Heap also spoke. As noted in the Telegram article, “The event in St. John’s is scheduled for Feb. 20 from 7-9 p.m. in the E.B. Foran Room at St. John’s City Hall.”
The full tour schedule is available at http://canadians.org/blog/?p=13581.
