From Nov. 22-25, representatives from 32 Western countries met in Montreal to take part in the 70th Parliamentary Assembly of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On the first day of the assembly, protestors made demands to dissolve NATO due to the alliance’s perceived complicity in the genocide in Gaza, and to reduce Canadian defence spending. On the evening of Nov. 22, protestors smashed shop windows on Rue St-Urbain and René-Lévesque Blvd, and set cars on fire—actions which drew condemnation from Canadian politicians including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
NATO is a defensive alliance initially formed in 1949 to provide collective defence against the Soviet Union. Today, the alliance is known for Article 5, which guarantees that an attack on one member country will trigger a response from all member countries.
The agenda for the assembly focused on providing support for Ukraine, which relies on NATO to slow the ongoing Russian invasion. Canada is also under pressure to increase its annual defence expenditure from 1.29 per cent of its GDP, to the NATO benchmark of 2 per cent.
Greg Baune is Vice President of Le Mouvement Québécois pour la Paix, an organization that opposes Canada’s membership in NATO, and was involved in organizing the Nov. 22 protests. He argues that NATO’s self-description as a defensive alliance is misleading.
“[NATO describes itself] as purely a defensive organization, and many people just buy it, hook, line, and tackle,” Baune told The Tribune. “In the end, the very existence of the organization allows its members to coordinate the help they give to whichever client state they wish to advance Western imperial interests in [….] We think that as working-class Canadian students, our first and primary task is to dedicate ourselves to fighting against our own imperialism.”
Sasha Robson,* U2 Arts, was starkly opposed to the NATO assembly being hosted in Montreal, as they believe that NATO is complicit in Israel’s siege on Palestine. They called for NATO countries who provide weapons to Israel to stop, and for the alliance to enforce an arms embargo on Israel to avoid the risk of being collectively responsible for a genocide.
“NATO is a cornerstone of imperial power worldwide that is responsible for endless death and killing, including in the ongoing genocide in Palestine and Lebanon,” Robson told The Tribune. “This set of wars is to perpetuate violence for the sake of perpetuating violence, for the sake of profit […] NATO has been responsible for colonial violence worldwide for decades, since its inception in places like Afghanistan and Libya.”
Robson also argued that Canada should not increase its defence expenditure to support Eastern European countries, but should rather reinvest tax revenues in social services domestically.
“I don’t think Canadian tax money should go anywhere other than Canada. Frankly, I don’t think [arming Ukraine] is a responsibility,” Robson told The Tribune. “While I can obviously say that Russian aggression […] is horrible, I don’t think the solution [is to be] found through funneling more money through the US government.”
Lorenz Lüthi, Professor of History of International Relations at McGill, clarified that NATO is not directly involved in the conflict in Palestine.
“NATO is not involved in the current war of the Israel government/military against the Palestinians in Gaza. Individual NATO countries provide weapons to the Israeli government, but not all—and some are quite critical about Israeli policies in the region,” Lüthi wrote.
However, Lüthi emphasized that the dissolution of NATO would have devastating effects on Eastern European nations facing Russian expansionism.
“[The dissolution of NATO would] have a major impact on Eastern Europe, however. The Baltic States, Poland, and Romania have a long history of Tsarist Russian, Soviet, and post-Soviet Russian interference and domination,” Lüthi wrote to The Tribune. “Under Putin, this has become a major issue again.”
Mihails,* U2 Engineering, claims that Canada has a responsibility to protect Eastern European countries from Russian expansionism, and believes in the importance of the country’s continued involvement in NATO.
“[Russia] wants to expand its influence towards Eastern Europe, and I think it would be an awful thing for some democratically elected governments to fall if NATO were to be disbanded,” Mihails told The Tribune. “I think [participation in NATO is] a very beneficial investment that we’re making in defending weaker countries and maintaining their stability.”
Despite mounting pressure, the US, Germany, and Italy—all NATO members—continue to provide arms to Israel, which are used against the Palestinian population.
*Robson and Mihails’ names were changed to preserve their anonymity.
