Protestors sit in at Manitoba MP’s office, calling for ceasefire in Israel-Hamas war

Demonstrators sit-in at Dan Vandal's St. Mary's Road constituency office on Oct. 30, 2023.

Rolling sit-ins were held Monday at the offices of 17 members of parliament across Canada, including a Manitoban representative, as protestors called for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The sit-ins are described by organizers as a nationally coordinated action by a number of local constituents in the MPs’ ridings.

Dasha Plett, a member of Queers for Palestine Winnipeg, participated in the sit-in at the constituency office of Dan Vandal (Saint Boniface-Saint Vital) on St. Mary’s Road.

Sit-ins were also held in Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver, among others.

Demonstrators delivered a letter to each of the MPs calling for an immediate ceasefire.

They want each MP to sign the letter and forward it to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau, along with Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, have called for a humanitarian pause, but have stopped short of calling for a ceasefire in the conflict.

Humanitarian pauses are a shorter window of time, usually hours or days, in which there is a pause from hostilities, while a ceasefire is open-ended. Humanitarian pauses often allow for movement of aid, while a ceasefire can be a step towards talks for a more lasting peace.

Demonstrators read the names of Palestinian people killed in the Israel-Hamas war in an Oct. 30, 2023 photo at MP Dan Vandal's constituency office.

Plett says a humanitarian pause doesn’t go far enough.

“They don’t even put a Band-Aid on the wound because what happens when the bombs stop falling is that the occupation, the settlements, armed settlers - these sorts of thing just continue to happen and the movement and the freedom of the Palestinian people just continues to be totally prevented.”

Demonstrators across the country will read out the names of Palestinians who have been killed since the war began. Protestors participating in the Winnipeg sit-in also plan to hold a rally on Monday night outside Vandal’s office.

According to Plett, Vandal was not at his office during the demonstration, but protestors have been in communication with his staff.

“They’ve assured us the letter will be passed onto him, and we really hope he signs it and signs it immediately,” Plett said.

“The humanitarian crisis is worsening with every single passing second, and there’s really no time to waste.”

CTV News reached out to Vandal’s office for comment.

- With files from CTV’s Judy Trinh