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Canadian Voice of Women for Peace
VOW's August Newsletter
August 2025
Events & Actions

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

This August we want to highlight VOW's Sparking Change: Imagining a Different Future program; the 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

Sparking Change: Imagining a Different Future
29th August to 1st 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 29th August to the morning of September 1st at:

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

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

Some subsidies are available, with thanks to support from Science for Peace.

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

SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION HERE

Hiroshima and Nagasaki Poster Exhibition
&
Hiroshima Remembered:
80km for 80 years Peace Walk

In-Person Event

Wednesday, August 6th 2025
9:00 AM - 4:00PM 
Admission is free and open to all.

Wednesday, August 6 – Hiroshima Day

  • 9:00 AM: Opening of Poster Exhibit
  • Poetry
  • Interactive Activities
  • Light Refreshments
  • 11:30 AM: Flag Raising & Proclamation
  • 12:00 PM: Bells for Hiroshima

Join us for the full exhibit:
August 6, 7, and 8
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM

Admission is free and open to all.

LEARN MORE HERE

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.  

VOW Stands in Solidarity at the
KW Emergency Protest:
Stop Starving Gaza NOW!

Thursday, July 24th evening, Waterloo Town Square, ON

Canadian Voice of Women for Peace took a stand alongside passionate community members and advocacy groups: KW Palestine, Palestine Solidarity KW , KWC Palestine, Neighbours4Palestine Waterloo Region, to raise our voices for justice and peace in Palestine. Through petitions, a march, and collective action, we condemned the ongoing violence, the illegal occupation, and the deliberate deprivation faced by Palestinians. 

"The past few months have pushed our people to the edge — children are dying from hunger and dehydration, families are being wiped out under siege and bombing, and exterminated by a lack of food, water and medical care. This is a murderous genocide, and starvation has become an intentional weapon used by Israel. This inhumanity must be stopped through world protests and actions, we will honour our responsibility to bring this to an end."

-Waterloo Region Friends of Palestine

Restore International Law and Invest in Peace

VOW Article

By: Lyn Adamson, Co-Chair, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace

It is horrifying to watch the images coming out of Gaza: starving babies, the killing of civilians waiting in lines for food, and the forcing into a small enclosure, with 88% of Gaza now off limits to Palestinians.  

The fact that all the powers in this world have not intervened to stop this massive humanitarian catastrophe, despite obligations under international law designed to prevent genocide, is an unbelievable failure of international diplomacy.

We are supposed to believe that the current massive expenditure in weapons is not enough to keep us safe and we need to TRIPLE our military budget asap. Yet with all the military force we have now, why are wars and starvation happening? All this military might is not enough to bring peace or justice to Gaza? Not enough enough to bring FOOD into Gaza and to stop killing people in aid lines? If all the military might we have now can’t stop the extermination of a people then why should we believe more will be better? 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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

Event Recording

WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT, THANK YOU!

Thank you for your interest in Steeped in Peace: A Feminist Gathering for Disarmament & Connection. Whether you joined us live, donated, or spread the word about the event, we’re so grateful for your support!

It was a powerful and inspiring gathering—full of thoughtful conversations, shared visions, and a collective commitment to building a peaceful, just world. We’re excited to share the recording with you, so you can revisit the event or experience it for the first time!

⭐️  Watch the Recording

💛 A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who donated—your support helps us bring our Peace & Disarmament Education program to educators, youth, and schools across Canada— continuing to build a culture of peace.

Still want to contribute? Every donation makes a difference. Donate here!

Consider becoming a VOW member to support our work year-round. Join us here!

Want to stay in the loop? Sign up for our monthly newsletter at 🌐 vowpeace.org.

We’re deeply grateful to be in this work together!

VIEW THE RECORDING HERE
Calling 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
August 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
Special event on August 8th at 3:00 PM, and for weekly vigils every Thursday at 5:00 PM, with Michele Landsberg at Yonge and Bloor.

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

No More Hiroshimas
No More Nagasakis

Virtual Event
July 27th, 2025
1:30 PM ET

A webinar to explore the terrible mistakes of the past, and the possibilities for nuclear nonproliferation and peace in the future.

Speakers: Hideko Tamura - Hiroshima survivor, Founder of one Sunny Day Initiative

Lisa Savage - blogger, environmental and anti-nuclear campaigner

Cora Fabros - Co-President of the International Peace Bureau

Event co-sponsored by:
UNAC - United National Antiwar Coalition
NO to NATO
IPB - International Peace Bureau
REGISTER HERE
War, Peace, and Law: An Online Course
World BEYOND War
Virtual Event
Start Date: Monday, August 4, 2025
Duration: 6 Weeks
Time Commitment: 3 to 6 hours per week
Cost: On a sliding scale from $25 to $100 or more if you can afford it. Tickets are non-refundable!

War and peace are not only political struggles—they are legal constructs that shape global power, foreign and domestic policy, and everyday life. War is prohibited under international law, and numerous constitutions, treaties, and legal systems restrict, renounce, or seek to prevent it. Yet exceptions persist, enforcement is selective, and legal norms are routinely ignored, undermined, or exploited. The result is a world where war is illegal on paper but legitimized and normalized in practice.

This six-week online course explores how legal systems enable, constrain, and challenge war. Through case studies, legal texts, historical examples, and participatory discussions, you will examine how law has been used to justify war and violence, hold perpetrators accountable, and envision alternatives. Each module focuses on a distinct theme—whether conceptual, legal, political, or practical—and invites critical reflection on how legal norms are created, enforced, resisted, and reimagined.

ENROLL HERE
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, & VOW National Coordinator, 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
The Fire Still Burns:
Hiroshima, Disarmament & Resistance

Virtual Event

Wednesday, August 6th 2025
7:00 AM - 8:00PM AEST
Free. Registration is essential.

A Hiroshima Day event with Peter Garrett and ICAN Australia.

Eighty years after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the fire still burns — in memory, in resistance, and in the global movement to abolish nuclear weapons.

As nuclear tensions escalate and Australia becomes more entangled in nuclear alliances, this one-hour online event brings together survivors, artists, campaigners and parliamentarians to reflect on Hiroshima’s legacy — and the urgent task of disarmament.

REGISTER HERE
How to Start a Divestment Campaign

Virtual Event

Wednesday, August 6th 2025
7:00PM ET

Join Just Peace Advocates and organizers from Retired Teachers Divest, Queers for Palestine Toronto, Toronto Writers Against the War on Gaza, and the Coalition du Québec URGENCE Palestine to learn how to develop an impactful campaign! We will be talking about how to:

  • Find information and analyse data
  • Develop a strategy and pick targets
  • Factors that impact your campaign

There will also be time for a Q&A! Come join activists from across the country and learn / share tips and tricks to make our campaigns even more impactful.

REGISTER HERE
Give Peace Trivia a Chance Fundraiser
Toronto Association for Peace & Solidarity Trivia Night in Support of "Peace of the Pie: People's Hearings on Military Spending"

In-Person Event

Tuesday, August 12 at 7pm ET

Where: Blood Brothers Brewing, 165 Geary Ave Toronto ON M6H 2B8
Entry fee: $10-$40 (Food included!)
Send Registration Payment to: info@peaceto.ca

JOIN US FOR A TRIVIA FUNDRAISER: 

Give Peace Trivia a Chance!

In support of the "Peace of the Pie": People's Hearings on Military Spending organized by the Toronto Association for Peace and Solidarity.

Teams of 4-8! Make your own team or join another the night of!

6 rounds of 10 questions with two 5 min breaks. Questions are focused on peace and anti-imperialism!

Food included in the registration fee: fries, pulled pork sliders, jackfruit slider (vegetarian) and wings. 

All are welcome! Register ahead of time!

REGISTER HERE
Upcoming Events
Violence, Militarism &
Warmongering-How Can We Live Peacefully
Uniting for Peace Autumn Conference 2025

Virtual Event

September 4th, 2025
1:00 - 3:00 GMT-4

In a world increasingly shaped by violence, militarism, and the normalisation of war, how can individuals and communities reclaim the possibility of peace? This timely online conference brings together a distinguished panel of speakers from civil society, academia, and global peace movements to explore the roots of today's conflicts and the pathways toward a more just and peaceful world. With particular attention to the ongoing wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, the discussion will examine the role of grassroots movements, anti-militarism efforts, and international solidarity. The panel will be followed by a live Q&A session, inviting participants to engage directly with the speakers and contribute to the conversation.

Be part of this vital conversation as we address one of the most pressing challenges of our time: How can we work together to create a future where peace prevails over war?

This conference aims to bring together thought leaders, policy experts, and activists to address some of the most pressing global challenges and discuss pathways to peace and stability. Your participation would greatly enrich this dialogue and inspire our audience.

GET TICKETS HERE
Global Week of Action for
Peace & Climate Justice
International Peace Bureau

In-Person/Virtual Event

September 4th, 2025
1:00 - 3:00 GMT-4

We are excited to announce that the next Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice will take place 15-21st September 2025.

Instead of taking decisive action to stop escalating genocidal violence and climate disasters, world leaders are militarising at pace. As ever-more resources are directed away from peacebuilding, social welfare and climate action towards war and armed violence, it is essential that our movements come together to take action for a demilitarised just transition. 
 
Our theme this year is divest from war – invest in the just transition! This is an open invitation to groups and individuals around the world, encouraging you to organise new or promoting your existing actions, materials and events in response to the theme. In 2024, dozens of actions took place across the globe. 
 
Together, we will: 
  • Raise public awareness of the links between war, militarism/militarisation and social and climate injustice;
  • Build connections between peace, climate and justice movements;
  • Build momentum for collective action and policy making against militarism and for social and climate justice.
For more information and to share details of your plans and participation, visit https://climatemilitarism.org/weekofaction/ - the website is being updated with details about this year's WoA, so stay tuned! 
LEARN MORE HERE
"Peace of the Pie" People's
Hearings on Military Spending
The Toronto Association for Peace and Solidarity

Event

September 20th, 2025
1:00 - 5:00pm ET
United Steelworkers 25 Cecil St., Toronto, Ontario

Military spending in Canada is poised to skyrocket – the pretext being NATO’s arbitrary new commitment that member states commit a staggering 5 percent of GDP on military spending. That represents $150b/annually in Canada.

Canada’s projected increase will come at the expense of spending that working people urgently need: healthcare, education, childcare, environmental protection, housing, employment insurance and public pensions, social assistance, public transit and more.

These considerations are left out of the political discourse, as politicians of all stripes rush to endorse NATO’s demands.

To amplify the voices of communities affected by this spending, TAPS is organizing a one-day, in-person “People’s Hearing” on military spending.

What could we do with a bigger “peace” of the budget pie, if government spending was prioritized differently?

We are inviting labour, peace, housing, social justice, and other community organizations to share their perspectives.

More details and information to come!

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

World Leaders Gather in Bogotá for Emergency Conference to Halt Gaza Genocide and Revive Global Justice

Article

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.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

Palestinian Human Rights Issues in Canada:
A Legal & Tactical Guide


Just Peace Advocates

This guide is meant to provide basic information on legal issues that Palestinian rights activists may face, and tips on how to navigate them. It provides some generally applicable information and some campus-specific information for student activists.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

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
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
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
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
Petition e-6616 (Foreign affairs)

Petition
 
Sign the petition to call upon the Government of Canada to 1. Publicly condemn the order made by the United States on February 6, 2025, by promptly issuing a statement of support for the Court and its staff, and denounce any flagrant attack on the international justice system;
2. Pass a blocking statute akin to those already passed by the Council of the European Union to protect against the international application of legislation passed by a third country;
3. Continuously disseminate among Canadians, signatories of the Rome Statute and Canada’s other partners, including the United States administration, a message of unwavering support for the Rome Statute and the ICC; and
4. Fully cooperate with the ICC, including by executing all currently valid ICC arrest warrants, such as those for Omar al-Bashir, Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin.
 
Closed for signature:
October 24, 2025, at 12:20 p.m. (EDT)
SIGN THE PETITION HERE
Global Appeal to Nine Nuclear Governments

Sign the Petition

This is an appeal from the people of the world to nine nuclear governments to each commit to a nuclear policy of no first strike, not ever, not for any reason; and to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and to collectively agree to immediately begin disarming on a schedule to completely eliminate all nuclear weapons from the earth no later than August 6, 2045.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE
Give Peace a Chance:
Ask Canada to support peacebuilding

Send a Letter

As we respond to the conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and around the world, we ask the Canadian government to respond with nonviolence at every level. We encourage the use of tools such as diplomacy, disarmament, and conflict resolution at the international level and encourage the government to provide more substantial support for non-violent locally-led peacebuilding.  

In Canadian government policy and practice, the default response to conflict is usually military intervention. However, MCC’s local partners point out that foreign military interventions often exacerbate conflict and division, rather than contribute to long-lasting peace. Even when the military is not involved, peacebuilding is often overlooked as a preventative tool to reduce conditions for violent conflicts.

Based on the work of our partners,  MCC believes that non-violent local peacebuilding needs to be a key pillar of Canada’s foreign policy, coming alongside both development and humanitarian actions, and as an alternative to foreign military interventions.

TAKE ACTION: SEND A LETTER HERE
Shut Down the Canadian NATO Parliamentary Association (CANA)!

Send a Letter

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 9th, 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
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
Commemoration of the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Hiroshima-August 6th, 2025
Nagasaki-August 9th, 2025

Religious statues from a destroyed temple look over rubble in Nagasaki, Japan, 1945. Photo: Lynn P. Walker, Jr.

On August 6th and 9th, 1945, nuclear bombs devastated two cities. But these bombings weren’t only historical events—they remain a warning today. Nuclear weapons continue to threaten life everywhere, both through their existence and long-lasting ecological harm. -By Canadian Friends Service Committee. (Read the full article here.)

UNFOLD ZERO

Civil society groups around the world are taking action on these days to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Join the Chain Reaction. Plan your action/event for Hiroshima or Nagasaki Day. Here are some examples of actions/events already planned:

A nuclear-weapon-free world; Our Common Good.
Ask your parliamentarian, mayor or religious leader to endorse the joint statement released on Hiroshima Day last year by Religions for Peace, Mayors for Peace and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.

Fasts for nuclear abolition
For the 32nd consecutive year worldwide, peace protesters in many different countries will be fasting from Hiroshima to Nagasaki days. The fast is a non-violent tradition to pause, reflect, create empathy with those who have suffered by nuclear weapons, and make a stand for nuclear abolition. The International Fast to Abolish Nuclear Weapons will hold fasts in Berlin, Bordeaux-Mégajoule, Büchel (nuclear weapons base in Germany), Livermore (nuclear weapons lab), Los Alamos (nuclear weapons lab), Lagos, Lome, London, Paris and other places. To organise and register a fast, please contact Dominique Lalanne, do.lalanne@wanadoo.fr.

FOR MORE EVENTS, CLICK HERE
International Day Against Nuclear Tests

August 29th, 2025

Since nuclear weapons testing began on 16 July 1945, over 2,000 have taken place. In the early days of nuclear testing little consideration was given to its devastating effects on human life, let alone the dangers of nuclear fallout from atmospheric tests. Hindsight and history have shown us the terrifying and tragic effects of nuclear weapons testing, especially when controlled conditions go awry, and in light of the far more powerful and destructive nuclear weapons that exist today.

On 2 December 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution calls for increasing awareness and education “about the effects of nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions and the need for their cessation as one of the means of achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.” The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991.

The main mechanism for eradicating nuclear weapons testing is the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 September 1996. To date, 187 countries have signed the treaty and 178 have ratified it. For the Treaty to enter into Force, it must be ratified by those States with significant nuclear capabilities.

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
They Were Children | Honouring 38,000 Lives Lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

For nearly 80 years we have lived with the constant threat of nuclear war, a threat that is increasing as world leaders seem to have forgotten the nightmare tales of the children who miraculously lived through the unleashing of hell on earth.

Rumi Hanagaki was five when the US dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. She works to make sure these stories are not forgotten.

At ICAN, we know that when we talk about what nuclear weapons do to people we change the conversation. Nuclear weapons are designed to cause mass destruction, they are meant to be indiscriminate and they cannot be used without harming the most innocent and vulnerable in our communities.

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
No Basis for These Bases: The damage foreign military basis do in 2025

World BEYOND War

As shown in the new report, complaints against foreign military bases are numerous. Bases deny sovereignty, make nations into targets, make wars more likely, support unpopular governments, do extensive environmental damage, proliferate nuclear weapons, provide criminal immunity to occupying troops, and create a segregated structure in which people do not all have the same rights.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
80 years of nuclear weapons is enough!

Warheads to Windmills

ICAN Executive Director Melissa Parke and nuclear test cancer survivor Mary Dickson spoke to staff of some of the more progressive Members of Congress at a special briefing to mark the 80th anniversary of the first nuclear explosion, the so-called “Trinity” test, which took place in New Mexico on July 16th, 1945. 

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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Renew Your Membership & Donate!

Be sure to renew your membership and donate to support our important work building a culture of peace in Canada and so that we can continue to hire youth throughout the year. Make a donation today!

 

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