Canadian Protesters Say Canada Should Leave NATO

A small group of people came together a few weeks ago in Canada to protest the current foreign policy of the country. They want to see a reversal of things, an exit from NATO, and an effort made toward the promotion of peace.

Canada, along with the United States and others, has spent billions of dollars on engaging in conflict overseas as a part of the war on terror and other initiatives. Many Canadians might not be aware or have simply forgotten that their government is heavily involved in ongoing war conflict in other regions.

But previous surveys have shown that many Canadians are worried about homegrown terrorism, and that they support increased government security powers to try and protect them in response; to keep them safe.

The gathering that took place recently, just a few weeks ago in Regina, was allegedly organized by members of the Regina Peace Council. They'd rather see all of the billions going toward other initiatives, like battling climate change or improving education standards, than fueling ongoing war. They criticized the countries involvement with NATO, for which it was a founding member, suggesting that the top priorities of NATO appear to be working to overthrow governments in an effort to reshape them in a more “Western way”; spreading their democracy.

Though the same foreign policy continues to bankrupt many countries and fuel blowback, worsening the problem, it doesn't seem like there is much of a protest movement against that policy. For the most part the pubic and media have been silent, focusing on other issues, and ignoring the ongoing conflict that's largely taken place out of sight. But that conflict has meant a tremendous deal for those who have been directly involved, who have lost their lives or witnessed people losing their lives, who've been responsible for taking lives, it's had a great toll. The current interventionist foreign policy isn't within the best interest of the people by multiple measures and we would be much better off to slow down and hold back some support for the war machine.