Canada again became a focal point of the trade union BDS movement yesterday, as the third largest Québécois union â the CSQ â passed a motion in support of the Palestinian peopleâs struggle. The union had earlier spoken out, along with numerous other Québécois organizations, over Occupation forcesâ blockade and bombardment of Gaza, denouncing the Canadian governmentâs complicity with the American and Israeli administrations. Yesterdayâs strongly worded motion called for divestment, boycott and sanctions until the Israeli state âconforms to international law and the principles of universal human rights.â
The 180,000-strong union adds to the growing global wave of condemnation from within the trade union movement. Labour organizations from all corners of the world â the Scottish TUC and the Congress of South African Trade Unions to name only two â have recently taken a stand. The debate on the brutal occupation and colonization of Palestinian land, and the BDS campaign, continue to be major matters of discussion and action in unions across the world.