TORONTO, 30 October 2006 — Protest rallies were held in major Canadian cities Saturday with demonstrators urging Ottawa to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. In Toronto, several hundred people gathered outside the US Consulate, where left-leaning parliamentarian Jack Layton demanded that the Canadian troops be brought back home.
In his speech during rains Layton said opposition to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan is growing. “The mission is not well constructed, it’s unbalanced.” Francisco Juarez, who was fined by the Canadian army reserves and released earlier this year after he refused to train for the Afghan campaign, was among the protesters in Toronto rally.
“Today I’m here at the protest because I feel that in whatever way I can, I need to assist in engaging Canadians in a broader debate, the issues of why we’re in Afghanistan and what the priorities are in Afghanistan for our Canadian forces,” he told the gathering.
Despite driving wind, heavy rains and even the season’s first snowfall in some areas, rallies and marches were held in many other cities, including Montreal, Vancouver, Quebec City, Calgary and Halifax. Protesters in Halifax carried a large banner that said: “You can’t plant war and expect to harvest peace.”
In Vancouver, about 600 people showed up for a rally in downtown. British Columbia New Democrat MPs Libby Davies, Dawn Black, Peter Julian and Bill Siksay were among the protesters.
Nearly 500 people marched through downtown Montreal holding anti-war placards in one hand and umbrellas in the other.
Several organizations, including the Canadian Peace Alliance, Canadian Labor Congress and Canadian Islamic Congress called for the demonstrations. The theme of Saturday’s rallies was: “Canadian Troops out of Afghanistan.”
California Protests
Meanwhile, Thousands of protesters marched against the Iraq war and the government of President George W. Bush on Saturday in Los Angeles and San Francisco, just days ahead of crucial congressional elections.
