JOIN US: VOW Steeped in Peace Fundraiser & More!

Check out what's happening this month with VOW!

VOW's July Newsletter

July 2025
Events & Actions

Our July newsletter is being brought to you by our National Coordinator Alley McDonald.

This July we want to highlight VOW's Steeped in Peace Fundraiser for Disarmament Education; Invitation to Peace Professionalism Project Discussion; 80th Commemoration of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Events; and so much more happening this month!

Be sure to scroll all the way down for upcoming events, calls to action, and recommended resources!

VOW's work of peace, anti-war and demilitarization merits your support! Make a donation. Even better, join our growing number of Monthly Peace Partners. Consider $5 or $50 or any amount in between. Become a Peace Partner today!

JOIN/RENEW/DONATE

VOW Updates

✌︎︎☕︎ Steeped in Peace:
A Feminist Gathering for Disarmament & Connection ☕︎✌︎︎

Virtual Event

Help Us Pour Peace Into Classrooms:
Support our Disarmament Education Fundraiser Today!

Fundraising Campaign June 1st – July 19 | Virtual Event: July 19

We are excited to invite you to support Canadian Voice of Women for Peace’s Disarmament Education Program, a visionary partnership with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War – Canada.

We are currently raising essential funds to bring peace and disarmament education into secondary schools across the country until July 19.

🔗 Donate Now
https://secure.vowpeace.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=5

Our campaign will culminate in Steeped in Peace: A Feminist Gathering for Disarmament & Connection, a national virtual gathering taking place on Saturday, July 19, from 1:00–3:00 PM ET / 10:00 AM–12:00 PM PT / 2:00–4:00 PM AT, where we’ll come together in solidarity!

Bring your own tea or favourite beverage and connect & network with fellow peace builders from across Canada; listen to moving storytellers; and learn more about, and engage with, our Disarmament Education Program in Canada.

🔗 Event Registration
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/LW1kPTIfSk6dJwpPb58VmQ

The Disarmament Education program is designed to equip educators with the knowledge and skills to seamlessly integrate institutional disarmament education into their local contexts. This involves interactive discussion on subject matter in the nexus of nuclear disarmament, nonviolent conflict resolution, Indigenous justice, and climate justice. Through engagement, education, and empowerment, we aspire to contribute to the creation of a more peaceful, sustainable, and just world— grounded in feminist values, creating a culture of peace, and the urgent need to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Why Support This Program?

This isn’t just education. It’s prevention. It’s transformation. It’s peace in action.

With your support, we can:

Facilitate workshops for educators across Canada
Develop and distribute engaging curriculum resources to educators
Expand awareness of the disarmament movement
Build long-term infrastructure for peace education

Let’s gather in peace, listen deeply, and imagine a disarmed future—together.
Your contribution helps pour peace into classrooms and impact communities across Canada!

REGISTER HERE

Peace Values & Competencies
Focus Group Discussion
Civilian Peace Service Canada

Virtual Event

📅 Date: Wednesday, July 3
🕡 Time: 6:30 PM ET / 7:30 PM AT / 3:30 PM PT

YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT!

Because your voice is important, please join us for a Focus Group Discussion on values and competencies for peace professionalism. The ultimate objective is to give recognition, credibility and respect to the important contributions we collectively make to conflict resolution, i.e., the field of peacebuilding, peace-making, peace development.

The Peace Professionalism Project, is partially funded by SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council). It aims to document the core values, skills, and competencies that can enhance the response capacity of peace professionals, and to develop an assessment system that can be used to improve peace practice, research, and curricula.

The project’s inclusive priorities are shown in the research team’s composition: Dr. Philip Onguny [with dual Canadian and Kenyan citizenship] is the Principal Investigator. The team consists of peace academics and practitioners from Canada, Kenya, Colombia, Nepal, Pakistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the DRC and the US.

No personally identifiable information will be collected, to ensure the anonymity and protection of data and participants.

More information about the study is also available on the PPP Web site at https://peaceprofessionalism.com/. You can also contact Project Directors, Gordon Breedyk (gbreedyk@peaceprofessionalism.com) and/or Evelyn Voigt (evoigt@peaceprofessionalism.com ).

We hope you can join us in this meaningful conversation.

🔗 Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/36s3Nhe-Tw6BvbCKusUbPA

REGISTER HERE

Hiroshima Remembered:
80km for 80 years Peace Walk
NS VOW

In-Person Event

Join us in walking for peace. 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Led by Mi’gmaq water and land protectors, we commemorate and envision a just world together.

The Peace Walks will begin on September 15 at the Peace Hall in Pugwash and will arrive in Truro on the International Day of Peace, September 21. A core group of walkers will complete the entire route and anyone can join in along the way. We will visit schools, beginning with Pugwash District High School, which remains the only school in Canada that has declared itself a ‘nuclear weapons free’ school. On September 15th, Remembering Hiroshima Peace walk will host a mini-conference for students at Thinker’s Lodge, Pugwash, focusing on this great initiative as well as topics of peace building in schools, communities and beyond.

We will be walking across Mi'kma'ki to Truro, one of the 52 historic African Nova Scotian communities. Recognizing that truth, reconciliation and reparation are the essence of creating a culture of care and peace, we look forward to Indigenous and African Nova Scotian youth, as well as intergenerational participation from all communities.

Please join us and share this action for peace and justice.

Contact winkler.kathrin2@gmail.com and/or nsvoiceofwomen@gmail.com to join.

Sparking Change: Imagining a Different Future
29^th August to 1^st September, 2025

In-Person Event

Nonviolence Workshop-August 29th-September 1st

In these challenging times we need to build strong social movements in Canada. In response to new levels of repression of civil society globally, we are compelled to become vigilant and resistant to the abuse of power. New creative means for outreach and engagement are needed to strengthen social movements.

Sparking Change: Imagining a Different Future is a program to bring fifteen civic actors together from the fields of environment and climate justice, peace building and nonviolent action to strengthen social movement building.

Lyn Adamson, the Co-Chair of VOW, Jill Carr-Harris, and Lee Ann McKenna of Partera International are organizing and hosting the weekend program. P.V. Rajagopal (Ekta Parishad, India) has been asked to lead the workshop. Michael Polanyi of Faith and Climate Action is an additional resource person, bringing his experience in nonviolent direct action.

This two-day workshop will explore the diversity of strategies and methods for effective social change. This is a unique opportunity to learn from leaders like Rajagopal, who has undertaken large-scale mobilization and brought about policy change in India in the highly contested area of land rights. We look forward to dialogue on different methods of moving change forward.

We particularly welcome participants involved in grassroots organizing, mobilization, and campaign-building.

The workshop take place from the evening dinner on the 29^th August to the morning of September 1^st at:

Hub and Hearth Retreat Centre (north of Orangeville). trails, labyrinth, hot tub.

Cost: $195 covering 3 nights accommodation and eight vegetarian meals.

Space is limited. Submit your application to join us today!

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION HERE

CBC's Cross-Canada Checkup: How Does Military Spending Affect Your Vote?
VOW Member kathrin winkler
Event Recording from April 13th, 2025

We’re pleased to share that Nova Scotia VOW member kathrin winkler was recently featured on CBC’s Cross-Country Checkup, where she spoke compellingly against military spending and uplifted a vision for peace.

🎧 Listen to her remarks between 50:50 – 59:40 in the episode: How does military spending affect your vote?

LISTEN HERE

Call on Peacebuilders to Raise Your Voices!

Urge CBC to air a conversation our country needs--on peacebuilding!

Peacebuilders, it’s time to raise our voices! ✨
Imagine a Cross Country Checkup episode dedicated to peacebuilding—highlighting the powerful stories and strategies shaping our world. Now, let’s make it happen together! 📻

🔊 What we need: Your voice! We’re calling on all peacebuilders to write a letter asking for a special peacebuilding episode. This is a chance to amplify the important work we’re all doing—across generations, across communities, and across all identities.

📝 Here’s how you can get involved:
Write a letter using our template (link located in our LinkTree). Feel free to personalize it or write your own!

Share your story—let’s make sure this call is intergenerational and intersectional. From youth activists to elders, and from marginalized communities and those directly impacted by conflict, every voice counts!

Once you’ve emailed your letter, BCC us or let us know so we can track the momentum of this campaign.

The more letters, the stronger our collective voice! Let’s work together to make peacebuilding a national conversation.

TAKE ACTION HERE

July Events

Hiroshima Appeals: A Poster
Exhibition of Global Messages
In-Person Event

Exhibition Period: April 1 – December 20, 2025
Admission: Free
11:30am-6:30pm ET
The Japan Foundation, Toronto 2 Bloor St. East, 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, Canada

In commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the entire annual series of the Hiroshima Appeals poster project is exhibited.

Initiated by JAGDA Hiroshima and Hiroshima International Cultural Foundation, and currently also operated by The Hiroshima Peace Creation Fund, the series demonstrates remarkably sustained continuity and ongoing efforts of world-wide compassion (https://hiroshima.jagda.or.jp/appeals_about.html ).

The series consists of 28 posters, headed by KAMEKURA Yūsaku’s masterpiece “Burning Butterflies” 1983, continued with an unbroken sequence of works of high artistic excellence.

Selected works from The Japan Foundation, Toronto’s poster collection accompany the Hiroshima Appeals posters which share the unique nature of the design creation in being non-commercial, abstract, conceptual, and focusing on global issues and subjects.

BOOK YOUR VISIT HERE

Women in Black:
Grandmothers Against Genocide
In-Person Event

Wednesdays Wkly 8am: Grandmothers Against Genocide Vigil. Bay/Bloor, Toronto

Thursdays Wkly 8am: Kingston Road Vigil. Kingston Rd./Victoria Park, Toronto

Thursdays Wkly 8am: Grandmothers Against Genocide. Five Points Intersection (Goderich)

Peaceful vigil for Gaza. You don't have to be a grandmother to show your support.

80 Years on: Learning from
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Together with the Next Generation

In-Person Event

Saturday, July 5, 2025
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM (EDT)

Admission: Free

Venue:
The Westdale , 1014 King St W, Hamilton, ON L8S 1L4

Organized by:
New Japanese Immigrant Committee of the National Association of Japanese Canadians.

Co-hosted by:
Toronto Japanese Prefectural Association
Hamilton Chapter, NAJC (National Association of Japanese Canadians)

With support from: Professor Kaori Yoshida, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Special Guest Speaker:
Setsuko Thurlow (Hibakusha, Member of the Order of Canada, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)

Program Highlights:

· Film screening: The Vow From Hiroshima + Q&A session

· Opening Performances:
Koichi Yosakoi Ambassador Kizuna International Team Canada
Inner Truth Taiko Dojo

· Cultural Exhibits:

o Panel display by the Niigata Kenjinkai: Isoroku Yamamoto – The Naval Officer Who Hoped to Prevent War

o Cultural booths from various other prefectural associations

Format:
Hybrid (In-person & Online Participation Available)

Event Website:

80 Years on: Learning from Hiroshima and Nagasaki Together with the Next Generation

REGISTER HERE

2025 Peace Index Report-
Canada Launch

In-Person Event

July 8th, 2025
1:00pm - 2:30pm EDT

LocationCooperation Canada offices - 123 Slater St. #800, Ottawa, ON

Cooperation Canada, in collaboration with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), is pleased to invite you to a high-level session marking the release of the Global Peace Index (GPI) 2025, the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness.

Covering 163 countries and territories, and accounting for 99.7% of the world's population, the GPI evaluates 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators across three domains: Societal Safety and Security, Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict, and the Degree of Militarization.

This event is open to all Cooperation Canada members and non-members. We welcome representatives from organisations working in peacebuilding, human rights, conflict resolution, social development, gender equality, and economic justice, especially those based in the National Capital Region.

Hosted by: Institute for Economics & Peace

REGISTER HERE

Fourth Annual 24-Hour Peace Wave 2025
Abolish Nukes, Build Peace
International Peace Bureau
Virtual Event

The Peace Wave will happen on July 12, 2025, from 0:00 to 24:00 UTC.

In Japan that is 9 a.m. July 12 to 9 a.m. July 13.

In Europe that is 2 a.m. July 12 to 2 a.m. July 13.

In U.S. and Canada Eastern Time that is 8 p.m. July 11 to 8 p.m. July 12.

The peace wave is a 24-hour-long Zoom featuring live peace actions in the streets and squares of the world, moving around the globe with the sun. The peace wave visits dozens of locations around the globe and includes rallies, concerts, production of artworks, blood drives, installation of peace poles, dances, speeches, and public demonstrations of all variety.

In 2025 we are encouraging participants to address the need to abolish nuclear weapons.

All parts will have machine-translated captions in Zoom. Some parts will have human voice interpretation.

Organized by: International Peace Bureau, Stop the War Coalition Philippines, Gensuikyo, and World BEYOND War.

View the detailed agenda here.

GET THE ZOOM LINK TO WATCH THE PEACE WAVE HERE

Global Day of Media Action to #CLOSEBASES
Virtual Event

Monday, July 14, 2025
Register for Zoom #1 at 10AM ET
Register for Zoom #2 at 8:00PM ET

SAVE THE DATE: Join us for a Global Day of Media Action to #CloseBases on Monday, July 14! This day of action continues the momentum from the successful Global Day of Action to #CloseBases on February 23, which had 60+ actions in 27 countries.

In this “actionar-style” event on Zoom, we’ll take coordinated action together to simultaneously post on social media and submit letters to the editor to local newspapers to amplify the #CloseBases message worldwide. We’ll provide you with templates and assistance in real time to take action together. The day of action is timed with World BEYOND War’s release of a new global report on the impact of military bases worldwide.

We’re hosting the online day of action at 2 times on Monday, July 14 to make it accessible to the most time zones: 10:00am ET and 8:00pm ET. Register for the time that works best for you!

Register for Zoom #1 at 10am ET

Register for Zoom #2 at 8pm ET

SIGN-UP HERE

Decolonization Discussion Group
Virtual Event

Monday, July 14, 2025
3:00 PM - 4:00PM

This discussion group meets regularly to explore decolonization, environmental peacebuilding, and this community.

The meeting will be held on zoom: https://zoom.us/j/5866739532

ZOOM LINK HERE

Art not Arms
Art Competition

Submission Deadline:
Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Art not Arms is an international youth art competition inviting young people aged 13 to 29 to reflect on and creatively respond to the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons. This initiative aims to amplify youth voices in the global peace movement through visual art, highlighting the humanitarian and planetary health consequences of nuclear weapons.

This art competition offers a platform for youth to express resistance, hope, and solidarity through original artwork. Selected entries will be featured on the websites of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Canada (IPPNWC), as well as compiled into an art book. The first-place winner will have their piece showcased at the IPPNW Nagasaki Congress this October!

By connecting creative expression with nuclear disarmament advocacy, this art competition seeks to challenge the normalization of nuclear weapons and amplify youth perspectives on peace, justice, and a world free of nuclear violence.

SIGN UP HERE

Prompt: Create original visual art reflecting on nuclear disarmament and the humanitarian and planetary consequences of nuclear weapons.

Who Can Participate: Youth aged 13-29 from around the world

Prizes:

1st place: Showcased at IPPNW World Congress, Nagasaki (Oct 2-4th, 2025)

Top 3: Displayed at the Canadian Human Rights Museum during the Youth Nuclear Peace Summit

Selected Entries: Featured online and in a globally distributed art book

Submission Guidelines:

-Original 2-D visual art only (painting, drawing, or original digital photograph)

-No copyright infringement

-Artists may submit multiple pieces (each submitted separately)

Timeline:

-Submission Deadline: July 15th, 2025

-Winner Announcement: August 9th, 2025

Sign up link: https://forms.gle/2ypRJCsEZCTPSNNv9

Peace and Friendship Gathering

In-Person Event

Thu, July 17, 2025
5:00 PM Sun, Jul 20, 2025- 1:00 PM ADT

Tatamagouche Centre

259 Loop of Highway 6 Loop Tatamagouche, NS B0K 1V0

Welcome to the Peace and Friendship Gathering 2025! Join us at the Tatamagouche Centre for a meaningful few days of connection, learning, and community. This event is all about coming together to celebrate peace and friendship in a beautiful setting. We'll have workshops, discussions, and activities focused on building relationships and fostering understanding. Don't miss this opportunity to be a part of something special. See you there!

PURCHASE A TICKET HERE

Learning Series on Climate Security: Gender, Climate, and Security
Virtual Event

Tuesday, July 22, 2025
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM ET

Host: Environment, Climate, Conflict, and Peace (ECCP) Community of Practice

This session (open to anyone!) will focus on Gender, Climate, and Security, with Maryruth Belsey Priebe, aXXelerate, and Sophia Stanger, Austrian Centre for Peace. Two guests will share their practical experience, Dr. Mojisola Akinsanya, founder Women for Peace and Gender Equality Initiative (WOPEGEE, Nigeria) and Col. Lt. Michael Novotny (Austrian Defense Attaché in Ghana).

Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/5866739532

More info:

https://www.ecosystemforpeace.org/meetings/climatesecurityjuly

ZOOM LINK HERE

Upcoming Events

80 YEARS OF THE NUCLEAR AGE: REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI

In-Person Event

Wednesday, August 6th, 2025

The Peace Garden, Toronto City Hall, Toronto, ON

4:00pm-6:30pm: Community & Craft Tables

6:30pm-8:30pm: Commemoration Ceremony for the 80th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki & Commemorative Lantern Ceremony

FREE, FAMILY FRIENDLY, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

GUEST SPEAKER: SETSUKO THURLOW, CM, Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient on behalf of ICAN, International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

YOUTH SPEAKERS: KAREN GOODFELLOW, MARISSA HUM, LOUIS L'AHELEC, ALLEY MCDONALD

PERFORMANCE BY GRAMMY-NOMINATED FLAUTIST RON KORB

MUSICAL PRESENTATIONS BY YOUTH AND ADULT CHOIRS

CANADA AND THE ATOM BOMB PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION

LEARN MORE HERE

Exploring Abolition Movements
#NOWAR2025 Conference

Virtual Event

Start: Friday, October 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM ET

End: Sunday, October 26, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET

How do we move towards a world without wars, weapons, police, prisons, the death penalty, and borders? How can we work towards our collective liberation, recognizing that oppressions are interconnected? Come to #NoWar2025 to explore how we can join in solidarity across movements and borders to abolish these interwoven systems and build a world based on common security — “no one is safe until all are safe.”

#NoWar2025 will make the case for abolition, explore intersections between abolitionist movements, learn from successful case studies of abolition, and strategize about how we can truly move towards a world beyond war.

PURCHASE TICKET HERE

War On Gaza-Updates

Call it what it is. Genocide.
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Petition

We have a moral and legal responsibility as a country to prevent genocide.
Yet Canada continues to arm Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Our leaders refuse to see, hear or even speak about what’s happening. But we’re not going to let them ignore it.

It’s time to call it what it is. Genocide.

Israel has killed over 50,000 Palestinians in the last 18 months—including 20,000 children. Our country is complicit in these ongoing deaths by buying and selling military goods and technology with Israel. Canada is even profiting off these murders.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Demand Your MP Sign Onto the Call for a Full and Immediate Arms Embargo on Israel!
Arms Embargo Now
Email Your MP

As the catastrophe wrought by Israel’s continued assault on Gaza grows, we’re calling on the Canadian government to immediately suspend all trade in arms and military technology with Israel.

It’s time for MPs to join the growing call for a two-way arms embargo on Israel.

EMAIL YOUR MP HERE

Waterloo Region Friends of Palestine
In-Person Event

Every Saturday, 11am ET
300 King St E, Kitchener, ON

Silence is the greatest weapon of destruction, so use your voice, speak out, have conversations and, in your listening you will hear your work to support Palestinian liberation.

See you on Saturday at 11am Kitchener Market!

GAZA SQUARE
In-Person Event

Every Sunday, 11am to 1pm
371 Wallace Ave, Toronto, ON

We'll be at Gaza square once again this Sunday morning with hot chocolate and coffee, buttons and posters, lawn signs and colourful chalk! Come say hi and meet your fellow neighbours/organizers as we make our presence known and continue to build safety in our community!

LEARN MORE HERE

Calls to Action

Shut Down the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (CANA)!
Petition

NATO interventions have led to failed states, environmental and climate damage, violence against women, and humanity’s largest refugee crisis. NATO allies have wasted trillions on wars and carbon-intensive weapons, enriching the (mainly US) arms industry while exacerbating conflict around the world. To conduct imperialist wars, occupations, covert and overt military operations and crippling sanctions, NATO is the tool that imperialist countries use to manage their war-mongering division of labour.

NATO membership also drives Canada’s rising military spending. In 2014, NATO members pledged to increase their military spending to 2% of gross domestic product (GDP), and now US President Trump and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte call for an increase to 5% of GDP. Over the past ten years, Canada’s military spending has increased 100% from $20 billion in 2014 to over $42 billion in 2024, which is 1.4% of GDP. On June 9^th, 2025, Prime Minister Carney announced Canada would meet NATO's 2% target this year, which will raise Canada's military spending to about $62.7 billion. Imagine what $62.7 billion could do to end Canada's housing crisis, health, and infrastructure crises, not to mention environmental mitigation and providing northern Indigenous communities with clean drinking water!

Rather than re-forming a new CANA, as required following the recent federal election, the Canada-Wide Peace and Justice Network, calls for shutting down the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association altogether, and for Canada to withdraw from NATO.

TAKE ACTION: SEND A LETTER HERE

Declaration of Peace
Sign the Declaration

World BEYOND War's primary tool for building a broader movement for peace is our Declaration of Peace, and we'd like to invite you to join the many thousands of people and over 900 organizations from 202 countries that have signed it.

After you sign, you're invited to fill out our short interest form to indicate the ways in which you'd like to get further involved in working with us to abolish war.

The declaration:

“I understand that wars and militarism make us less safe rather than protect us, that they kill, injure and traumatize adults, children and infants, severely damage the natural environment, erode civil liberties, and drain our economies, siphoning resources from life-affirming activities. I commit to engage in and support nonviolent efforts to end all war and preparations for war and to create a sustainable and just peace.”

SIGN THE DECLARATION HERE

Tell PM Carney: No Golden Dome!
Petition

Donald Trump recently said Canada could freely participate in his Golden Dome in exchange for annexation. The US president’s post came on the heels of Mark Carney expressing interest in the missile ‘defense’ initiative, betraying his election promise to distance Canada from the US. Take a minute to email Carney and defence minister David McGuinty to reject Canadian participation in Trump’s Golden Dome.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Condemn Carney's Call for
"Zionist Palestinian State"
Petition

In a recent interview Prime Minister Carney told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour “what’s needed is a Zionist Palestinian state”. Mark Carney said Canada would only accept a “Zionist Palestinian state”. Please take a minute to email the Prime Minister to condemn his racist comment.

SEND A LETTER HERE

CRA Needs to Stop Subsidizing Zionist Paramilitary Charities in Canada
Send a Letter

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has granted charitable status to Magen Herut Canada (MHC) and Shomrim Toronto, two organization with questionable background, ties and purposes to Israel, a state which actively practices apartheid and genocide.

Please take a minute to demand that the CRA immediately review and suspend the status of MHC and Shomrim Toronto and their ability to grant tax-deductible receipts which amount to Canadian taxpayers subsidizing apartheid and genocide in Palestine and also the rise of dangerous extrajudicial security in Canada outside of accepted and legitimate security channels.

SIGN A LETTER HERE

Cancel F35 contract. Canada shouldn’t spend billions on US fighter jets
Petition

Amidst Trump's economic siege and annexationist threats, it is unacceptable Canada is paying a US military giant $19 billion for 88 F-35s. Lockheed Martin’s fighter jet was chosen in part so the Canadian air force can better assist their US counterparts in offensive global operations. The US controls the F-35 source code and upgrades, giving Washington an effective “kill switch” on Canada’s fighter jets. Please take a minute to ask new Prime Minister Mark Carney to halt plans to buy F-35s, along with copies to the Opposition leaders.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE

Days of Significance

International Day of Cooperatives

July 5th, 2025

[2025 UN International Year of Cooperatives]

The 2025 United Nations International Year of Cooperatives (IYC2025) theme will be Cooperatives Build a Better World, showcasing the enduring global impact cooperatives have everywhere. This theme puts a spotlight on how the cooperative model is an essential solution to overcome many global challenges and continues to play an important role in accelerating efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The 2025 UN International Year of Cooperatives (IYC) was officially launched at the ICA Global Cooperative Conference and General Assembly, in New Delhi, India. The conference attracted delegates from over 100 countries who discussed how cooperatives build prosperity for all, focusing on four conference pillars: Reaffirming the cooperative identity; Enabling supportive policies; Developing strong leadership: and Building a sustainable future.

LEARN MORE HERE

Disability Pride Month

July 2025

Ableism has been prevalent in the history of Ontario. Exclusion, discrimination and violation of principles of basic dignity have been the norm for disabled people for much of this province’s history.

By proclaiming July as Disability Pride Month, Ontario is prioritizing the need to listen to the disability community when addressing their needs and priorities. Disability Pride Month is about recognizing the important contributions of Ontarians with disabilities and the place of disabled people in Ontario’s diverse society.

Every year in July, Disability Pride Month celebrates persons who experience disability, their identities and culture, and their positive contributions to society. The event aims to change the way people think about disability. It promotes all types of disability as a natural part of human diversity.

In 2019, the Disability Flag designed by Ann Magill began to circulate during Disability Pride Month. The flag was revised in 2021 to this current design (shown in image on the left of this column).

Meaning behind each design element:

All six flag colours: Disability spans borders between nations
Black background: Mourning for victims of ableist violence and abuse
Diagonal Band: Cutting across the walls and barriers that separate disabled people from society
Red Stripe: Physical disabilities
Gold Stripe: Neurodivergence
White Stripe: Invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
Blue Stripe: Psychiatric disabilities
Green Stripe: Sensory disabilities

LEARN MORE HERE

Tributes to Peace Women

Please let us know if you know of a member who has passed away, as we wish to recognize their contributions to VOW and to building peace in our world. Please let us know at info@vowpeace.org

Legacy Donations

Your legacy gift helps ensure that VOW’s critical work continues for years to come. Whether it’s advancing our disarmament education program, advocating for peace, or working to end nuclear threats, your gift will directly support the next generation of peacebuilders!

LEARN MORE & PLAN YOUR LEGACY HERE

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

If We Want Peace, We Have To Prepare For Peace

Reaching Critical Will: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Canada

In response to the United States (US) bombing three Iranian nuclear facilities and the tentative ceasefire reached between Israel and Iran, WILPF reiterates its calls to prevent any further unlawful aggression and to hold the perpetrators accountable. WILPF also stands in solidarity with all people in Iran and across the Middle East who are resisting increased internal oppression, external assault and militarism that will lead to nothing but destruction and suffering. The US and Israel’s actions are a direct result of decades of impunity for Israel’s crimes in the region and violate international law, risking catastrophic regional escalation, including nuclear confrontation. This must end immediately.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Canada goes all-in on military spending. Will it backfire?

As It Happens with Nil Köksal, Chris Howden

At the NATO summit, the Prime Minister promises to spend a lot more on defence; Cesar Jaramillo, the chair of a Canadian disarmament group says that if the aim is to make the world safer, the move is way off target.

LISTEN HERE

Ending The Ukraine War: between realism and nuclear risk

Security Alternatives for a New Era: SANE Policy Institute

"Those who speak of victory often fail to explain how, exactly, a nuclear-armed Russia would allow itself to be defeated. Or what happens when it refuses. The reality is that the only path to full territorial reclamation through military means would create precisely the conditions under which Russia might resort to nuclear weapons. To press forward without acknowledging this risk is to play a high-stakes game of strategic roulette, not just for Ukraine, but for the world.

Despite the scale and stakes of the Ukraine war, there is still no serious international effort to craft a comprehensive peace plan. Military support for Ukraine has been coordinated and sustained. Diplomacy, by contrast, has been vague, reactive, and largely absent. This is a strategic failure."

READ THE ARTICLE HERE

Trump's Golden Dome - A Golden Goose for the Military Industrial Complex

The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space

"Donald Trump is calling for a renewal of Ronald Reagan's 1980's vision of SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative), popularly called Star Wars. The program is a massive boondoggle in the works. Early estimates are that Trump's 'Golden Dome' shield would cost from $500 billion to trillions of dollars.

The recipients of this largess would be weapons corporations like Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, L3Harris and Space X. Major cutbacks in social and environmental programs will be required to help fund this insanity. Golden Dome would spur a new space weapons arms race that will destabilize our planet and beyond.

Bruce Gagnon talks about how the U.S. intends to use space technology to control the Earth on behalf of western corporate capitalism. He reminds the viewer that the U.S. and Israel have for many years blocked negotiations for a treaty banning all weapons in space at the United Nations, long introduced by China and Russia."

Global Network links: https://linktr.ee/space4peace

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

The Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Children

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

"Far far away, behind the word mountains, far from the countries Vokalia and Consonantia, there live the blind texts. Separated they live in Bookmarksgrove right at the coast of the Semantics, a large language ocean. A small river named Duden flows by their place and supplies it with the necessary regelialia."

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Canadian Foreign Policy Hour with Yves Engler

Join author Yves Engler on Mondays for a weekly news roundup and interactive discussion about Canada’s role abroad. This weekly session will delve into the latest developments on subjects ranging from military affairs and Canada’s role in Ukraine to its contribution to Palestinian dispossession and exploitation of African resources. Join Yves for a critical take on Canada’s foreign policy. Questions, comments and criticisms are all welcome.

Mondays 6PM EST

ATTEND HERE

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