[KWPeace-groups] Join us this weekend to call on Trudeau government to "Drop the F-35 Deal" & please sign the petition

[Tamara Lorincz]

Hello and Happy New Year KW Peace!

I hope everyone is well.

Actions are being planned across the country this weekend to call on the Trudeau government to cancel its procurement of 16 Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighters for $7 billion. The Canadian Press reported before Christmas that the Treasury Board had given its approval to the Department of National Defence to place the first order of F-35s and that a formal announcement would be made by the federal government early in the new year. This is the second most expensive procurement in Canadian history. Each fighter jet is $430 million and costs $48,000 per hour to operate. We don't need costly, carbon-intensive fighter jets - we need housing, healthcare, education and climate action!

The "Drop the F-35 Deal" weekend of action will be held this Friday, January 6 to Sunday, January 8.  There are a dozen rallies taking place across the country from Victoria, British Columbia to Halifax, Nova Scotia. In Ottawa, there will be a big banner drop in front of Parliament at noon on Saturday, January 7. The schedule of actions can be found at www.nofighterjets.ca<http://www.nofighterjets.ca>

*Please join us at 3 actions in the Waterloo Region:

Friday, January 6 at 2:00-2:30 p.m. Liberal MP Bryan May's office at 534 Hespeler Rd., Cambridge
Friday, January 6 at 3:00-3:30 p.m. Liberal MP Bardish Chagger's office 100 Regina St. Waterloo
Saturday, January 7 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. Kitchener Farmers Market, 300 King St E, Kitchener
At each MP office stop, we will deliver a letter and take a photo. At the market, we will pass out leaflets, collect signatures and take photos.

*Please sign this online petition to the Trudeau government here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/canada-drop-the-f-35-fighter-jet-deal

The weekend of action is organized by the No Fighter Jets Coalition that is comprised of over 25 peace and justice groups in Canada. In a statement, the coalition explained that it is opposed to the procurement of F-35s because of their use in war, harm to people, excessive costs at over $450 million per plane, and adverse impacts to the natural environment and climate. Read the coalition's statement here: https://nofighterjets.ca/2022/12/30/dropthef35dealstatement/

Since its founding in 2020, the coalition has organized many actions, petitions and events to raise opposition and public awareness of the costly, carbon-intensive fighter jet procurement. The coalition released a cost estimate<https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Uncovering-the-True-Cost-of-88-New-Fighter-Jets-Report.pdf> showing that the life-cycle cost of the fighter jets will be at least $77 billion and a comprehensive report entitled Soaring<https://wilpfcanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/03-Harms-of-Fighter-Jets-Report_Final.pdf> on the adverse financial, social and climate impacts of a new fighter jet fleet. Thousands of Canadians have signed two parliamentary petitions against the procurement. In August 2021, the coalition also released an open letter signed by over 100 high-profile Canadians including Neil Young, David Suzuki, Naomi Klein, and singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer.

The coalition wants the federal government to invest in affordable housing, health care, climate action and social programs that will help Canadians and not in F-35s that will enrich an American weapons manufacturer. For more information about the coalition: https://nofighterjets.ca/dropthef35deal/

Please spread the word. Please contact your MP and say #NoFighterJets and share on social media: https://twitter.com/TamaraLorincz/status/1610470170664779776

Thank you for your support,
Tamara

(1)
ONLINE EVENT:
BAN PLUTONIUM REPROCESSING IN CANADA
Jan 19, 2023 07:00 PM
Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B6miPpyXQTWY8ztklgsRcg
Plutonium is a byproduct of nuclear reactors. The separation of plutonium (and other isotopes) from irradiated fuel is called "reprocessing." It is a dirty, dangerous and expensive process that leads to intractable radioactive waste problems and nuclear weapons proliferation risks.
"Reprocessing" nuclear fuel waste was informally banned in Canada in the 1970s. However, the nuclear industry is pushing for plutonium reprocessing and the use of extracted plutonium as reactor fuel in a new generation of so-called "small modular" nuclear reactors, claiming it is required to mitigate climate change.

This webinar features three expert speakers

Ray Acheson is Director of Reaching Critical Will, the disarmament program of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and a member of the steering group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

M.V. Ramana is the Simons Chair in Disarmament, Global and Human Security and professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia, and a member of the International Panel on Fissile Materials.

Joshua Frank is an environmental journalist, an editor of CounterPunch, and author of the recently released "Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America"

Hosted by Nuclear Waste Watch and co-sponsored by Beyond Nuclear, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Coalition for Responsible Energy Development - New Brunswick, Conservation Council of New Brunswick, David Suzuki Foundation, Inter-Church Uranium Committee Educational Cooperative, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War - Canada , Northwatch, Ontario Clean Air Alliance, Regroupement des organismes environnementaux en énergie, Science for Peace, Sierra Club Canada Foundation, and Voice of Women for Peace
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://kwpeace.ca/pipermail/groups_kwpeace.ca/attachments/20230104/97fd9294/attachment.htm>