Thread by @yipengGe

Since the Canadian government is under fire for lies and deception over the Minister of Foreign Affairs telling Canadians we aren't sending weapons or weapons parts to Israel to commit genocide in Gaza, when in fact, this has been happening up until last month. I have a story.

This is about the Canadian government, through its political arm, exerting pressure on non-governmental organizations and the civil service to silence the truth about the Gaza genocide. The same genocide that's being committed by Israel, funded, armed, and supported by Canada.

In July 2024, I started formal conversations with the Public Health Agency of Canada through the Racialized Employee Network to deliver a presentation about "Gaza and Sudan: a discussion on the local and international public health impacts of structural racism in global crises".

It took months to organize and prepare, and it was scheduled for December 5, 2024 at 11:00am virtually. In advance of the session, I send in my slide deck, and the title of my talk "Genocide in Gaza" was changed to "Impacts of Structural Racism on Gaza’s Healthcare system".

My presentation slidedeck was reviewed and "genocide" was removed, and as was my entire slide about how the Canadian public service could do to help, including supporting the BDS movement and Arms Embargo Now campaign.

My presentation was watered down into a purely 'humanitarian' lens, devoid of historical and political context for why and how Gaza is experiencing genocide at the hands of Israel, supported by Canada. This has always been preventable.

I wasn't sure about continuing to do such a presentation that would lack the rigour of political analysis necessary to understand the root causes of disease and suffering in Palestine - I have studied settler colonialism and its impacts on Palestinian health.

But I said yes, sure, I will concede to the censorship with the aim of reaching a wider audience to talk about "Gaza and Sudan: a discussion on the local and international public health impacts of structural racism in global crises" - we also had an excellent speaker from Sudan.

However, literal minutes before the event was supposed to take place. It was cancelled. Why? Because members of the Jewish Employee Network reached out to Ya'ara Saks (Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health), who then exerted pressure on the President and VP of the Public Health Agency of Canada to cancel the event.

In the days leading up to the event, there were complaints sent in, citing how the entire federal public service was invited to the event.

There were strong opposing views for my specific presence at the event. Citing a physician in the community who previously doxxed me and got me suspended from @uOttawaMed, but then they welcomed me back after their own investigation - I chose not to return.

There were views in support of my presence and views as well, including from members of the Jewish Employee Network.

The organizers of the event and the other speakers were shocked. A Minister was involved. Ya'ara Saks, who was the then Minister of Mental Health and Addictions
Associate Minister of Health. She put pressure on the President and VP of the Public Health Agency to silence the truth about Gaza. While people who organized against the event were gleefully celebrating in their government-issued group chat.

I was less shocked. Why? Because Ya'ara Saks had previously intervened and attempted to stop another event I was invited to - a film screening event for World Mental Health Day on the film 'Gaza Ghetto: Portrait of a Palestinian Family'. And I didn't need an Access to Information request to acquire the receipts, because they openly posted about their strategy on social media.

Not only was Ya'ara Saks involved in cancelling this other event on Palestinian mental health, but they also explained how their strategy included another Member of Parliament, Marco Mendicino, and even included contacting other provincial MPPs and Premier Ford.

Why do I share all this? The Canadian government's complicity and active involvement in Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, is not limited to military exports to Israel. These are two clear examples of anti-Palestinian racism by the previous Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health to ensure that the truth about genocide in Gaza would not be told to the entire federal public service.

Genocide in Gaza is only able to continue because of the support enjoyed by Israel from Western countries like Canada. This support comes in many forms, including the repression and the silencing of healthcare workers who are volunteering their time to speak truth to power.