By Alan Mercer

The vote in parliament for sending Canada into war in Iraq–potentially leading to war in Syria (and so on)–is scheduled for Monday, October 6.

One of the reasons why MPs, including Conservative MPs, should vote against the resolution is the fact that Canada is very likely, by participating in airstrikes, to increase the number of innocent people who have died already.

See, for example, this article:

As Canada debates Mideast mission, U.S. already weighing civilian deaths
Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press, www.globalnews.ca | 5 October 2014

Here is one of the reports:

. . . London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that five civilians were killed in airstrikes on oil refineries; two workers were killed in a Manbej grain mill; and six male civilians were killed in the southern countryside at al-Hasakah. The group says it’s aware of at least 73 people joining ISIL in the Aleppo area, in the wake of the first U.S.-led airstrikes. . . .

Someone could argue this was

. . . counterproductive . . .

I don’t want the Canadian government to kill innocent people by following this pattern. None of this is morally acceptable. Regardless of how many times it has already been done in other wars, now is always a good time to stop.

This vote on October 6 is a good time to pull back and negotiate peace and other means of justice for any crimes that have been committed. It’s time to stop escalating a war that could easily turn into a regional conflict and then into a global conflict.

As we face another cold winter, I don’t think Canadians can afford any of this turmoil.

I don’t think it is in our interests to see our tax money travel thousands of miles in order to rain fire down on the heads of people who are just as vulnerable to problems as we are. I don’t think it makes the world a more “secure” place to turn the homes of other human beings to ash and rubble.

And it’s certainly not going to make our freedoms and rights more secure, because war is always an opportunity for governments to introduce new powers for themselves and new controls on everything we do.

Contacting Members of Parliament

All parties, but especially, we’re talking about Conservative government MPs. Maybe there is still time to send your MP a quick email, and I think many of them are on Twitter too.

Based on the schedule, the debate looks like it continues into the afternoon on October 6th.

The list of federal MPs is on this page, and you can figure out which MP is yours.

For example, I could say the following to my MP:

Dear Mr./Ms. _,

According to various reports ( http://globalnews.ca/news/1599298/as-canada-debates-mideast-mission-u-s-already-weighing-civilian-aftereffects/ ), civilians have been killed during recent U.S. government airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets.

I really don’t want Canada involved in these kinds of actions. In my view, there is a real danger of events escalating out of control and affecting Canadians in very negative ways.

As far as crimes committed, Canada could retain more goodwill by keeping away from military actions and negotiating with the governments and other parties involved.

Please do not support the resolution to increase military involvement by Canada in the Middle East.

etc.