People for Peace/Meeting minutes/27 December 2007
From FreeWiki
People for Peace met on Wednesday Dec. 27, 2006 at the Central Library. David Heap, Mark Konrad, Jiman Mosa and Beth Guthrie (who provided these notes) attended.
Following are the plans we have drawn up, subject to your approval (assumed if no objections posted). You will note that we have 3 initiatives proposed, and that we hope that some individuals will volunteer to work on 1 or more of them. Tarek, you have said you have "much time"!
1. National Days to Close Guantanamo North and south, January 11-15, 2007.
We will send a package of information about the security certificate issue and about the conditions under which our Canadian detainees are held at the Kingston Immigration Holding Centre, otherwise known as Guantanamo North, to Glen Pearson, the new MP for London North-Centre.
The package will be accompanied by a cover letter requesting a meeting with him for a few representatives of P4P, preferably on Sat. Jan. 13. If that date is not possible, we will try to meet with him that week. On Sat. Jan 13 we will also leaflet at the Market with the postcards that we used last year, and if the meeting is that day, we can then march to Pearson's office and create a demo outside. We expect Mr. Pearson to be willing to meet with us and to agree with us about the importance of this issue. He will be asked to raise the issue with the Liberal caucus. We will also request a meeting with Joe Preston, the Conservative MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, who refused to meet with us last year.
I will put the packages together, and Jiman will prepare postcards and prepare a poster relating our foreign minister and PM to Bush, and Gitmo North to Gitmo South.
It would also be good if a group could get permission to show Road to Guantanamo paired with the films that Homes Not Bombs have made about our detainees.
Required: Volunteers to meet with Glen Pearson, and volunteers to leaflet the market.
2. All-candidates' meeting: When a federal election is called (could be as early as Feb.) People for Peace should host an all candidates' meeting focussed on the war in Afghanistan. Other issues of foreign relations that relate to it can be brought in as well. Required: A committee to plan this meeting - plan format, questions and look for appropriate location ahead of time and, once the election is called issue invitations and do publicity for the event.
3. March 17 - 4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The call for actions is from the Canadian Peace Alliance and also International A.N.S.W.E.R. The focus is on Afghanistan and Iraq. Tarek has suggested a week of events. P4P need not do all of the events, but can publicize the issue and invite other groups to do something. We need your suggestions about other groups that can be asked to plan something. We came up with: political riding associations, LACASA, Cross Cultural Learner Centre, student clubs at UWO, Fanshawe, and high schools, Labour Council, CHRW - Muslims Live . . .
Daylight saving time starts the w/e before, so it will not be dark until about 7 pm. Suggestions for events include:
a. P4P or another group could invite Richard Sanders of the Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade to bring his slide show entitled Afghanistan! Iraq! 'Missile Defence'! : Canadian Complicity in the Business of War.
b. Global Importune could do a 24 hour vigil reading the names of people who have died in Afghanistan and Iraq - citizens of those countries as well as occupying soldiers.
c. P4P could hold a candlelight vigil Friday night (the 16th) or a silent march on Sat. afternoon (the 17th). Knowing that we won't get a large crowd, this could be more effective than a traditional rally.
d. The Imam at the Mosque could be asked to do a sermon on the issue at the Mosque on Friday (the 16th).
e. NDP riding associations may want to ask Jack Layton to come and speak on the issue at an NDP event.
That's it, so far, folks, now it's your turn to dig in and get to work! Beth
