A Palestinian flag which reads Labour4Palestine, Ceasefire Now, End the siege, Free Palestine.
A Palestinian flag with a message from Labour for Palestine Canada. Credit: Labour For Palestine Canada / X Credit: Labour For Palestine Canada / X

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) passed a resolution on October 24 to push the Canadian Government to end the sale of arms to Israel and call for a ceasefire in Israel-Palestine. 

The resolution passed with a 70 per cent majority at CUPE’s National convention in Quebec City, which hosted approximately 2,000 CUPE members. 

Just a few days after this resolution passed, on October 26, a coalition of over 70 humanitarian, faith, labour, and civil society organizations announced that they would hold a press conference urging the government to endorse the demand for a ceasefire in Israel-Palestine and the demand to end the blockade in Gaza. 

Among the speakers at the event was Alex Silas, the executive vice-president of the National Capital Region for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). 

Catherine Larocque, president of CUPE local 2626, said that labour’s support for a ceasefire came at a crucial time because many workers are facing “hate and blowback for expressing sympathy with the plight of the Palestinian people.” 

Some statements on Palestine have received backlash

Larocque referenced the removal of Sarah Jama from the Ontario NDP caucus as an example of blowback for supporting Palestinian human rights. As well, she said that students and workers from York University and McMaster have been facing disciplinary action for supporting the Palestinian cause. 

Three student unions at York University, the York Federation of Students, York’s graduate student Union and Glendon College union, released a joint statement on October 12 that “reaffirmed” their solidarity with the Palestinian people.

“This struggle confronts the persistent oppression, displacement, and human rights abuses inflicted upon the Palestinian population,” the York student unions wrote. “We stand firmly in solidarity with those resisting such oppression, actively contributing to the legitimate fight for justice against settler-colonial nations.” 

In response, York University condemned the statement and called on student union leaders to resign. 

“The statement has been widely interpreted as a justification for attacking civilians and a call to violence,” a statement from York University reads. “While the University affirms the right of students and other community members to express political views, including support for the Israeli and/or Palestinian people, the University has condemned this statement noting that freedom of speech is not absolute.”

Activists are calling on unions to protect workers who speak up

The numerous reports of workers being disciplined for speaking in support of Palestine informed the resolution that was passed by the Canadian Staff Union (CSU) on October 21. 

CSU’s resolution is similar to the resolution of CUPE. However, CSU’s resolution also contains a piece that calls on CSU to protect workers who are disciplined or silenced for speaking out. 

“As trade unionists that should be our bread and butter, right?” said Aidan Macdonald, a rank-and-file member of CSU. “If workers are being disciplined, if workers are being terminated for any reason, that’s a core part of the work that we do as trade unionists and as union representatives. We need to support those workers, and make sure that they aren’t disciplined unjustly.” 

Macdonald said that having the CSU resolution protect those who speak out was very important to membership. According to Macdonald, there have not been any high profile cases of CSU members being disciplined for speaking out but they have witnessed the backlash other workers were facing. 

“I think there’s a dangerous conflation of Palestine Solidarity with support for terrorism,” Macdonald said. “People say, ‘We think that Palestinians, as do all other people, deserve the right to live with dignity, in peace and in security. And there’s a very dangerous conflation where any types of views that are expressed along those lines become antisemitic, become about supporting terrorism. That’s not what it’s about, right? This is about human rights and justice and dignity for everybody, including Palestinians.” 

Larocque said that she has seen how fear has spread within her own union local, CUPE 2626. 

“I have been contacted by some Palestinian members, who have expressed a general fear around coming to campus,” Larocque said. “We also have some Jewish members who were also afraid to come to campus because this rhetoric that’s being spread is conflating Israel with the Jewish identity when a lot of Jewish people do not support that regime and don’t associate with that. So not only is it denying the reality of the genocide of Palestine, it’s furthering antisemitic rhetoric by treating the Jewish people as a monolith.” 

Larocque said that her local has also begun collaborating with CUPE local 4600, which represents workers at Carleton University, to look into a report of a Carleton professor being disciplined for calling Gaza an open-air prison during her lecture. 

A strong and morally clear statement from Canada’s labour movement helps reinforce unions’ commitment to action, according to James Hutt. Hutt is an organizer with Labour4Palestine, an organization that focuses on labour issues related to Palestine and pushing unions to support the Palestinian struggle. 

“Every day, workers, especially workers from vulnerable marginalized populations, are further under threat,” Hutt said. “So we’ve been calling on unions to protect our workers, to protect the right to free speech and to stop these attacks on Palestinian solidarity.” 

Larocque from CUPE made a similar statement, saying that workers need to know their union will have their back when they choose to speak out. Larocque said that unions who commit to doing this will also be demonstrating their commitment to Indigenous causes in Canada. 

“I’ve been really trying to bring in that colonial context in Canada, and calling to account the things we say in our land acknowledgments,” Larocque said. “If we can’t stand with the Palestinian people, what message is that sending to our indigenous people here in Canada?” 

Larocque emphasized that not all resistance to Israeli occupation is violent. She pointed to the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement as an example. The BDS movement organizes people to boycott companies that have illegal Israeli settlements and calls on the government to sanction Israel. 

Larocque said that when all voices against Israel are silenced, it sends the message that no type of resistance is acceptable. 

As a woman who is descended from the Mohawk in the Tyendinaga region and the Oneida in the Six Nations region, Larocque said that Canada’s response to recent developments in Gaza have sent a disheartening message to Indigenous people in Canada. 

“Canadians need to be very concerned about the doublespeak that’s happening from our elected officials and from our public institutions around this crisis,” Larocque said. “They’re also making a statement about their position about Canadian Indigenous people.”

Gabriela Calugay-Casuga

Gabriela “Gabby” Calugay-Casuga (she/they) is a writer and activist based in so-called “Ottawa.” They began writing for Migrante Ottawa’s radio show, Talakayang Bayan, in 2017. Since then, she...