Calls of Solidarity

Canadian Labour & Calls for Solidarity with Palestinian Teachers​

Palestinian Trade Unions call for workers across the world to halt the arms trade with Israel and support a peaceful non-violent Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.  See General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT) Call for Solidarity


BC TEACHER’S UNION PASSES MOTION IN SUPPORT OF BOYCOTT, DIVEST & SANCTIONS MOVEMENT 
March 16, 2026 (Vancouver, Unceded xʷməθkʷəy ̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh, səlilwətaɬ territories).
In a historic vote at the BC Teachers’ Federation’s (BCTF) 2026 Annual General Meeting, teachers from across British Columbia passed a motion in support of the Boycott, Divest & Sanctions movement in solidarity with Palestine. Individual motions were submitted by 10 locals of the BCTF. Speaking in support of the motion, Palestinian educator Khaled Shawwash said:  “I stand before you envisioning another universe…I envision a universe in which children of all faiths–including Muslim, Jewish, Christian–can laugh and play along the shore of Gaza, underneath not the deafening hum of drones, but the songs of the Palestinian sunbirds. Sadly, this is not the universe we are in, but it is one that we can help make possible.” 
 
This is the first province wide motion to support boycott, divestment and sanctions in relation to Palestine, despite the BCTF’s history of supporting international struggles for justice, including the boycott campaign against South Africa in the 1980’s. It follows the adoption of other motions in support of Palestinian human rights, including a $50,000 donation to UNRWA and endorsement of the Arms Embargo Now campaign.  Teachers at the meeting wore buttons with the slogans “BDS Saves Lives” and “BDS Saves Kids”, recognizing the especially high death toll of children in Gaza, as well as the impact of the Israeli bombing campaign on schools and universities.  The motion was supported by Indigenous teachers, who spoke to the similarities between the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Canada and Palestinians in their homeland. Indigenous teacher Carol Arnold said to the delegation:  “I want to express solidarity and add our Indigenous voices loud and clear to support Palestinians who, like us who are victimized by settler colonialism. We are grateful to the Haida Gwaii delegates who crafted such a comprehensive resolution, including the defence of teachers who are threatened about teaching the truth about what is happening in the Middle East.” 
 

Here’s the text of the BTCF resolution:

That the Federation:
1. Recognize the longstanding international movement of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) initiated by Palestinian civil society and trade unions, as a non-violent framework for advancing human rights, peace, and equality in Israel and Palestine, and publicly announce the commitment of the Federation to being guided by its core principles when considering its own advocacy, purchasing, and investment decisions.
2. ⁠Support the use of targeted BDS as one set of tools to hold governments and corporations accountable for violations of international law and human rights, consistent with the Federation’s purposes of advancing equity, anti-racism, peace, and global solidarity in the face of the harm done to students, teacher, and the education system in the occupied Palestinian Territories.
3. ⁠Develop and present, no later than the 2027 Annual General Meeting, an ethical procurement and investment review policy that evaluates how Federation funds, purchases, and investments align with the principles of the BDS movement, based on the Federation’s own values, policies, and independent judgment. 
4. ⁠Encourage the Executive Committee to establish a committee to review current investments and purchasing practices under this policy and bring recommendations to the Executive committee and membership. 
5. ⁠Develop and disseminate workshops and educational materials to support member learning about the global mass movement for BDS strategies and their use in advancing human rights in Palestine and the world.
 
 

Bramptom is now an Apartheid-Free community:  On March 11th 2026, Brampton City Council voted YES to adopt the Apartheid-Free Communities Pledge in principle making Brampton the first city in Ontario to take this stand.

ARMS EMBARGO NOW In July 2025 Arms Embargo Now released a report uncovering hundreds of weapons shipments from Canada to Israel. 

The Ontario Federation of Labour, Canada’s largest provincial labour federation representing over one million workers, recognizes what is happening in Gaza for what it is: genocide. At their 2025 convention, OFL passed the following motion:

THE OFL WILL: 

  • Develop expertise to help research, advise and guide affiliated unions on the divestment within their pension funds from Israel-linked investments, all direct and indirect holdings in entities that manufacture or distribute arms, ammunition, implements or munitions of war, as well as companies engaged in activities that support or sustain Israel’s illegal occupation.

  • Compile these learnings into materials and resources available to affiliates and members.

BECAUSE: 

  • Pension funds should not be invested in entities complicit in human rights violations.

  • Six Canadian public pension funds have invested at least USD$1.6 billion in companies and arms manufacturers supporting Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

  • These public pension funds investments speaks to an ever-widening gap between workers who contribute to these funds and the investors who decide where to invest them.

At this same convention in November 2025, The OFL also passed another resolution declaring trade relationships and services with Israel to be “hot cargo” that workers will not touch.  “Hot cargo” is used to define goods that workers will not handle due to its association with exploitation and oppression. (Rabble.ca)

For more on the Hot Cargo Kills Campaign visit Labour4Palestine’s website.

Canadian Labour Congress supports a two way arms embargo.

The New Brunswick Federation of Labour (NBFL) has passed a “hot cargo” resolution calling for all 35,000 of its members to refuse the handling of arms shipments bound for Israel, and for a national arms embargo.

Educational International (EI), has launched a call for solidarity for The General Union of Palestinian Teachers (GUPT), the General Union of Workers in Kindergartons and Private Schools (GUWKPS) and the Palestinian Federation of Unions of University Professors and Employees (PFUUPE). The Ontario Teacher’s Federation (OTF) is an EI member through membership with the Canadian Teacher’s Federation (CTF).

In June 2025, OSSTF Toronto Teachers’ Council voted overwhelmingly to urge OTPP to divest from “any company that manufactures weapons used by the Israeli government in its assault on Gaza, as well as any company profiting from armed conflict anywhere in the world.”

In June 2024 OSSTF D19 & D12 unanimously passed the following motion:

BIRT the OSSTF District 12 TTBU Executive takes the following actions:

  1. Write a letter to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board of Directors urging them to:

           a) Divest from any company that manufactures weapons used by the Israeli government in its assault on Gaza, as well any company   profiting from armed conflict anywhere in the world,

           b) Review and amend its policies to ensure that such investments do not occur in the future.

              2,  Send a copy of this letter to the membership via an all-member email

              3.  Send a copy of the letter to the 30 OTF Board of Governors” 

Motion passed from ETFO (exec council):

That ETFO write to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan urging them to divest from any company profiting from any armed conflict, including the war in Gaza, and to review and amend its ESG* and reputational filters ensuring such investments not occur in the future. ETFO will copy the Ontario Teachers’ Federation on the letter. 

ETT Motion:

That ETT work with allies in labour/community groups to:

Provide support and resources for teachers to educate about major conflicts, humanitarian values, and the importance of human rights.

Show solidarity with Palestinian people and advocate for their rights.

Educate members about our pension plan investments in response to Palestinian labour requests.