Warren Allmand,
the Solicitor General of Canada under Trudeau who currently teaches
international human rights at McGill University, "confirms this
judgment." While
Raymond Gravel, a Catholic
priest and former MP representing the riding of Repentigny for the Bloc
Quebecois, stresses that "Israel is acting in a violent and inhumane way
towards the civilian population of Gaza."
The author and journalist
Gil Courtemanche
cannot help but "make connections with the logic of the apartheid system
that long existed in South Africa," while actress and winner of the
Artist for Peace Prize,
Pascale Montpetit, expressed her "inability to comprehend the political choices of a government that deliberately starves 1.5 million civilians."
Ellen Gabriel,
a well-known Aboriginal leader states that "the attempt to eliminate
the history and presence of a people from their ancestral lands is a
despicable crime against all of humanity, which morally, culturally and
socially impoverishes all of us,"
Nicole Filion
from the Ligue des droits et libertés protests against the movement
that tries to silence the voices advocating a boycott of Israeli
products and denouncing Israel and its crimes.
For
Françoise Davidand and
Amir Khadir
of Québec solidaire, "the right for populations to decide for
themselves is not negotiable. Similarly, the imposition of the blockade
is not acceptable because of the dramatic human impact it entails. We
therefore support the Canadian boat to Gaza."
As for
Yakov Rabkin of Independent Jewish
Voices, "The siege of Gaza, like any siege of a civilian population is a
crime. More and more Jews condemn it, denouncing the claim of the State
of Israel that it acts on behalf of Jews throughout the world."
The filmmaker and novelist
Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
says that after her many visits and filming in the area she considers
it her "duty to take a stand for the project, and that the Canadian boat
to Gaza is acting in a concrete and peaceful way.” For his part, the
sculptor
Armand Vaillancourt, seethes about
"the violence of the Israeli army against the Palestinian people" and
goes on to call the boat to Gaza “a noble gesture."
For
Dr. Bachar ElSolh of the Canadian Muslim
Federation, "supporting this project is something that is obvious when
you know even a little about the situation in Gaza."
Among the public figures that came out to support the project, there were also representatives from labour groups such as Christian Martel of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and the FTQ, the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ), the Montreal Metropolitan Central Council (CSN), and the regional FTQ Council of Metropolitan Montreal.
The Quebec Association of International Cooperation Agencies (
AQOCI), on behalf of 65 NGOs in Quebec, was represented by
Brian Barton, as along with civic groups such as
FRAPRU.
All these public figures and associations call on the public to support the project by making a donation on the site
canadaboatgaza.org.
"$240,000 has already been collected in just a few months, simply by
word-of-mouth. We are confident that with today's appeal, we can quickly
achieve the goal of $300,000 needed to complete the project" says
Stéphan Corriveau, a volunteer who coordinates the Quebec branch of the project.