A pro-Palestinian demonstration brought together a few hundred people on Sunday in Hamilton, Ontario, a few steps from the New Democratic Party (NDP) convention which was ending.
During its visit, The Canadian Press noted that the people gathered expressed themselves peacefully, without excesses.
“Free Palestine!” », “Free Palestine! “, exclaimed the demonstrators present, all in unison.
Hadeel Al-ashi, a young woman of Palestinian origin who took part in the rally, said it was important for her to be present to “spread the word to the world as well as support [son] country and [son] people “.
Another participant in the demonstration who only wanted to identify himself by his first name, Igor, said he believes what is happening in the Middle East is “the beginning of a genocide.”
“I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to speak up and make sure that the media doesn’t portray this as support or endorsement of Hamas. It’s a rally in support of the people and regular workers of Gaza,” said the man who is part of the Hamilton association of the Communist Party of Canada.
The Canadian Press saw New Democratic delegates among the demonstrators. The NDP socialist caucus was clearly visible, its representatives brandishing an easy-to-spot yellow banner.
One of the delegates, Flo Scha, stressed that it was important for the caucus to express strong support for the Palestinian people.
She, in the same breath, denounced the way in which the senior New Democrats reacted, the day before, to a demonstration at the convention center where the major NDP meeting was taking place.
The demonstrators criticized the party for not defending the rights of the Palestinians vigorously enough. Four delegates who joined the protesters because they agreed with the shared message had their accreditation revoked.
The incident caused so much discontent among some New Democrats that it disrupted some of the convention’s discussions, with delegates shouting and burying the voices of other delegates.
The dissatisfied people deplored the withdrawal of delegate accreditations. According to the party, these delegates contravened the party’s harassment policy.
“I wanted to be present [à la manifestation] to show my support, to show that we will not be intimidated about the genocide that is happening,” said Flo Scha.
According to her, the socialist NDP caucus managed to make certain gains even if it did not obtain everything it asked for.
“I think we’ve had some successes, honestly, in getting the NDP leadership to recognize how important this cause is,” she continued.
One of the four delegates who had her accreditation revoked told The Canadian Press that she is evaluating her options, with her lawyers, to complain about the treatment reserved for her.
“I am a political analyst. I don’t understand their process. I’m asking for information about it and they don’t even want to let people talk about it on the congress floor,” said Alanna Johnston, a woman from the Toronto area who said she lives with a cognitive disability.
On Saturday, an emergency resolution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was adopted by NDP delegates who were admitted to the plenary room.
This resolution aims for the NDP to demand “an end to Israel’s total siege of Gaza, which is prohibited by international law.”
“New Democrats call on Canada to advocate for the release of all hostages […], [à] demand a ceasefire and vital humanitarian aid for the residents of Gaza, [à] support the ICC and ICJ investigations into war crimes,” reads the adopted resolution.
The convention took place over three days and allowed 81% of delegates present to reiterate their confidence in NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.