Papineau for Palestine Visits Justin Trudeau's Montreal Office

On May 31, pro-Palestine activists from the riding of Papineau in Montreal gathered outside of Prime Minister Trudeau’s office, located in a remote part of the city, at 1100 Crémazie East. The demands of the organization and its supporters were for a true ceasefire in Gaza, an immediate arms embargo on Israel and for Canada to pressure Israel to lift the siege on Gaza.

Prime Minister Trudeau has recently been critical of Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to any kind of peaceful end to instability in the Middle East. Despite this, the protesters believe that there has yet to be an actioned response adequate to get the Israeli government to stop its bombardment of Gaza.

Many families were present at the demonstration. There was music and dancing for the residents of Papineau and their allies. People brought food, including falafel and cookies, and chatted together by the doors of the building where Prime Minister Trudeau’s Montreal office is located. Then there were speeches and chanting. Speakers included representatives from the Communist Party of Quebec and Palestine-Tamil Solidarity.

"[The politicians and MPs] are hiding, not because they are powerless as they claim. They have neither the political wealth nor the moralist responsibility to react properly to the genocide being committed in Gaza because they are funding it and profiting from it. Israel and Canada have always been big allies. [...] What is not acceptable and will never be acceptable is how Trudeau and other politicians are feeding the anti-Palestine hate in Canada while turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the unprecedented genocide in Gaza. Shame," said Samar Alkhdour, a Palestinian activist, as she addressed the crowd about Canada's complicity in the Palestinian struggle.

According to Palestinian health authorities, over 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7 of last year, 13,000 of whom have been children.