Dear Ceasefire.ca supporter,

We were in the Parliament buildings, standing directly beneath the Peace Tower, ironically, and he was looking for a fight. I’ll tell you why in a moment.

But, it’s because of you he was looking for a fight . . . in a way . . .

You see, we’re confronting Harper’s pro-war lobbyists and his arms dealers at every turn. Because of your participation and financial help our message is getting out through the media, in Parliament, and on the streets of Ottawa.

Together we are effective at exposing the corruption and misuse of our public dollars — dollars that we expect to be making Canada better; instead, they are lining the pockets of arms dealers, retired Canadian generals, and CEOs at big American corporations like Lockheed Martin.

The pro-war lobby is reacting to our campaigns — we’re revealing them to the public.

They are pressing journalists, trying to refute our research and slander our reputation.

The arms dealers are spending millions on advertising and submitting articles to newspapers to back their gold-plated projects, and their corporations and their generals are monitoring all of our activities.

That’s why I am asking you to make a special contribution to Ceasefire.ca today, so we can stand up to these pro-war lobbyists.

Will you join the thousands of other supporters in our Ceasefire.ca community, and give a small gift of $25? Visit https://www.ceasefire.ca/donate

Now, I can’t forget to tell you about the guy in the Peace Tower . . .

The sneer on his face as he walked up to me said it all: he was angry.

We were just about to launch a damning new report on another Harper Conservative multi-billion-dollar military scandal at the National Press Gallery conference room.

This arms lobbyist was a tall man, and despite wearing a suit and tie, he had a gruff look. He marched up to us and told us he represented General Dynamics. That’s a U.S.-based corporation that made over $21 billion (U.S.) in military sales in 2012 — the world’s fifth largest arms dealer.

And he wasn’t alone. This other guy said he represented Lieutenant-General Hainse, the Commander of the entire Canadian Army! They expected to get into our press conference to hear what we were telling reporters.

Why are the world’s fifth largest weapons manufacturer and the head of the Canadian Army so concerned about our work?

It’s because you and I and thousands of Canadian supporters just like you have become a threat to their war plans.

That day we released a new report exposing Harper’s deal to waste billions of dollars on more unnecessary combat equipment — more than $2 billion for over 100 tanks, called “close combat vehicles.”

The National Press Gallery’s rules did not allow them to enter the press conference room, and so they left, fuming, in disbelief.

They were angry, and worried, because Harper had scheduled a meeting with his Cabinet for the very next day to approve their $2 billion contract.

Our press conference won immediate widespread attention from the media, including the Globe and Mail.

And then, wow! Later that day we learned that Harper had cancelled his meeting. So, the close combat vehicles will not go ahead for now!

A small yet important victory, but Harper will wait until the time is right to make his move . . .

So, with your support, we will continue to challenge the defence lobby at every turn.

Because of our work the media are beginning to wake up to the corruption within Harper’s defence lobby, and all of us as Canadians are expressing our outrage.

Now, let me tell you about another one of Harper’s staunchest pro-war allies . . .

the disgraced Senator and former broadcaster Pamela Wallin.

Her story shows the level of corruption and antagonism that surrounds Harper.

For years Wallin used her role in the U.S. to support the terrible Bush administration, pushing Canada into joining his missile defence scheme.

Then later, back in Canada, she helped Harper prolong the war in Afghanistan by fronting the so-called “Manley Commission” which set out the plan for Canada to extend the combat mission.

Then Harper put her in the Senate, where she became his “enforcer” and took over the Defence Committee after the former committee chair broke with Conservatives and came out against Harper’s Afghanistan war.

Wallin even used her Senate role to attack critics of the government, including me.

She sent letters to newspapers across the country criticizing the media for reporting statements by me that were critical of the F-35 fiasco.

The Toronto Star, the National Post, and others printed her letter:

“The Rideau Institute is not a defence think tank. It’s a left-wing peace and social policy think tank that routinely criticizes Canada’s military spending and seems to favour a peacekeeping, search and rescue model.”

As you know, the Rideau Institute is the parent organization of Ceasefire.ca, a frequent target of Wallin and other pro-war supporters.

But now, in the wake of the Senate scandal, Wallin’s office files show she worked closely with corporations to win multi-billion-dollar contracts from the military.

The audit of her finances and agenda revealed Wallin met with

”Individual #39, a representative from an aviation company specialized [sic] in operating within hostile environments. The meeting was regarding Canada’s continuing role in Afghanistan and what that might mean for equipment needs.”

Was “Individual #39” a lobbyist from Lockheed Martin meeting with Wallin? And why didn’t the lobbyist register this meeting with the Commissioner of Lobbying as he or she should have done under the federal rules?

The corruption between the weapons corporations, the military, and Harper’s Conservatives runs deep.

We are one of the very few organizations working to expose this sleaze in Ottawa.

But we are up against powerful, wealthy forces. Lockheed Martin has spent untold millions of dollars on an ad campaign promoting the F-35 this summer. They have even hired the former Canadian Air Force general who led NATO’s bombing of Libya to lobby on their behalf.

Yet, with your support, we’re still making the pro-war lobby unhappy.

* We brought U.S. arms industry and F-35 expert William Hartung to Ottawa for meetings with journalists, MPs, and our supporters.

* More than 350,000 Canadians saw letters sent to newspapers by Ceasefire.ca members against an attack on Syria. We stopped a military strike and supported aid for the millions of refugees.

* 100 Ceasefire.ca volunteers across Canada urged Members of Parliament to support a ban on nuclear weapons. It worked! Senator Roméo Dallaire, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, and every single NDP MP have joined so far, making us the global campaign leader.

These are amazing accomplishments which are made possible through your participation, and because of your past donations to Ceasefire.ca.

Can I count on your support for the next round of our campaign?

* We will continue working to stop Harper’s plans for F-35 stealth fighters, armed drones, combat vehicles, and terrible weapons.

* We will work to confront the war lobby and to further reduce military spending, and to use those dollars to meet the needs of Canadians, the
environment, and the world’s poorest people.

* We will distribute thousands of white poppies to prompt a national discussion on the true lesson of Remembrance Day.

If you believe our work is vital, and you want to set Canada on a better path towards peace and sustainability, I ask then that you make a donation right now, or even join our Peacekeepers monthly donor club.

We need to raise $15,000 before Remembrance Day. Without your support, we will have to scale back our plans to confront Harper’s pro-war lobby.

Please send your contribution so you and I together can make Canada a peace leader once again.

In peace,

Steven Staples
Ceasefire.ca

P.S. Please help us to Stop HARPER’S WAR LOBBY and make a special one-time gift of $25, or whatever you can afford.

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