By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada – Around 50 Liberal Party staffers mutinied Wednesday against the Canadian government’s position on Israel's war in Gaza, pulling their services in a key Quebec byelection.
The 52 Muslim and Arab staff indicated their withdrawal and demands in a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was obtained by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
The Liberal Party needs the staffers to work the phones and pound the pavement door-to-door to garner support for the Liberals in the coming byelection so they can keep the riding of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun, left vacant by the resignation of the Liberal member of parliament. A riding is an electoral district represented by a member of a political party.
“While many of us started our political careers in elections as volunteers, we can no longer in good conscience campaign for a party that excludes us and our values,” the letter states.
The staffers wrote that they will withhold their services until the Trudeau government indicates a willingness to “join our allies, including Norway, Spain and Ireland, in recognizing the state of Palestine (and) acknowledge anti-Palestinian racism as a unique form of hate and work to address it in Canada.”
While Canada has banned the shipment of arms to Israel, the staffers also demand the government put a stop to allowing companies to circumvent the ban by sending arms to another country which then forwards the goods to Tel Aviv.
Lastly, they want curtailment of “all research collaboration on military and dual-use technologies between Canada and Israeli researchers.”
Trudeau’s office issued a statement Wednesday that Canada continues to support an immediate cease-fire in Gaza.