In Winnipeg Thousands Say No to War

In a Winnipeg demonstration stretching for almost a kilometre, a crowd estimated at between 6,000 and 10,000 joined a quarter of a million Canadians and millions more around the world on February 15 to say no to the imminent U.S. war against Iraq. The demonstration, which was the largest anti-war march in Winnipeg since the marches against Cruise Missiles in the early 1980s, was organized by a coalition of almost 50 political, social justice and religious organizations.

At the concluding rally on the steps of the Legislative Building, Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress Barb Byers brought greetings on behalf of the CLC's 2.2 million members. She condemned the war preparations of the U.S. Bush administration and demanded that the Chretien government keep Canada out of the impending war against the people of Iraq. The rally was also addressed by Esther Epp-Theissen of the Mennonite Central Committee and Bill Blaikie, MP for Winnipeg-Transcona. The rally ended with a spirited and well-received address from two young activists with the World People's Resistance Movement..

Carl Ridd, the master of ceremonies for the event, noted the absence of Manitoba Premier Gary Doer and all but one of his NDP cabinet ministers from the event. Provincial Conservative leader Stuart Murray told reporters that he would not attend the rally because he supported the U.S. war effort, while the provincial Liberal leader Jon Gerrard, also absent from the event, stated that he would support a U.S.-led war against Iraq if it were authorized by the United Nations.