The Council replies: Letters to the editor
Re: The new peace movement

The following letter was written in response to J.L. Granatstein's article, The new peace movement in the August 20 ^th edition of The National Post

It is ironic that a historian like Jack Granatstein seems to lack the basic understanding of how social movements work. One would think that Granatstein may have come across a book or two on the subject during his long career, but apparently not.

We stand in solidarity with the majority of Americans (and Canadians) who oppose the Iraq war, yet ironically Granatstein would be all too happy to deport the American war resisters who have taken the same position - this despite the fact that nearly two-thirds of Canadians (Angus Reid), including 53% of Conservative party supporters, (Strategic Communications) want the war resisters to stay. It’s easy enough to say we should support the troops, but why is it so difficult to support the troops who oppose the war?

Both the Council of Canadians and the peace movement at large have the support of the wide majority of Canadians in the positions taken and causes championed. Canada’s involvement in the war in Afghanistan owes much, as former Liberal defence minister Bill Graham later acknowledged, to the former Liberal government’s need to appease, post 9/11, the Bush administration after our refusal to join “the coalition of the willing” or to take part in the ballistic missile defence program – both of which decisions were overwhelmingly supported by Canadians. The Council of Canadians, for its part, far from being a “one-woman show”, has 76 chapters across Canada who, along with a majority of Canadians, oppose both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Perhaps what is bothering Granatstein is that Canadians increasingly recognize that both Iraq and Afghanistan are not about bringing peace to the region, but pipelines. One thing that we do agree with Jack Granatstein on is that nations “need peace movements”. The Canadian peace movement is not going away anytime soon, and we are proud to be a part of it, alongside millions of Canadians of every political stripe.

Brent Patterson
Director of Campaigns
The Council of Canadians
700-170 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5V5
1-800-387-7177
www.canadians.org