Candlelight Peace Vigil outside the
"Secure Canada" Arms Bazaar

Tuesday, September 30, 7:30 pm.
at the Bank St. entrance to
Ottawa's Lansdowne Park.

Poster: Click here to print the Peace Vigil poster

The Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade (COAT), NOWAR/Paix and Ottawa's Raging Grannies invite you to join us for a candlelight peace vigil to remember the terrible costs of war and its innocent civilian victims.

Secure Canada?
On the evening of September 30, after attending an arms exhibition inside Lansdowne Park called "Secure Canada 2008," representatives of the military-industrial complex will rub shoulders at a festive celebration. Following cocktails at what they're calling a "GALA Reception," these war profiteers, top military brass, politicians and bureaucrats will then hold their "GALA Dinner."

Canada's new Chief of Defence Staff, Lt.-Gen. Walter Natynczyk -- who commanded 35,000 troops in Iraq throughout 2004 -- is the invited keynote speaker at this private, closed-door, $150-a-plate "GALA."

Meanwhile, members of Ottawa's peace community will be outside Lansdowne Park, on the street, at a solemn vigil to remember the victims of war.

Think Globally, Act Locally! 
Please join our candlelight peace vigil to shed some light on the terrible human costs of war faced by civilians in Iraq, Afghanistan and so many other tragic zones of armed conflict.

While the war insiders feast at their dinner -- secure behind the fence of this publicly-fund City facility -- we will also be shining some light on the vast material costs of war paid by taxpayers.

In contrast to "Secure Canada" and its "GALA" events, our vigil is free, open to the public and dedicated to the promotion of peace. All are welcome.  Please join us.

"Secure Canada 2008" will be the first military trade show hosted on City of Ottawa property in almost 20 years. (In 1989, in response to a COAT campaign against ARMX, Ottawa Council passed a Motion banning all such events from municipal facilities.) 
 
Online Petition
Join us in demanding that the City continue to respect Council's popular 1989 decision to prohibit such arms bazaars on publicly-subsidized property. (Sign the online petition now!  Contact City Hall.)

Help Decorate the Fence around Lansdowne!
Please bring banners, signs, images and symbols of peace, colourful cloth, yarn or other materials, to decorate the fence around the war-industry bazaar.

Group Endorsements
Please invite organizations to endorse this event.

Spread the Word
Please circulate this notice to friends, colleagues, listserves, websites, progressive media. Thanks!

PLANNING MEETING:
Tuesday, September 9, at 7 pm.
Room 123, Simard Hall, University of Ottawa
(on Waller St. just south of Laurier Ave.)

For more information
Coalition to Oppose the Arms Trade