Ori Freiman: CUPE has no business cheering for Iran

National Post

5 hours ago

On Sunday afternoon, extremists met in front of the United States consulate in Toronto for a 'Hands Off Iran' rally. It was planned by several organizations, among them the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) of Ontario, before the U.S. army bombed the nuclear sites of Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan last weekend, dismantling the Islamic Republic's nuclear enrichment capabilities.
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While a debate over American military intervention is expected in the current Canadian climate, what made this rally notable was its union backing.
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Prior to the rally, a promotional flyer was circulated on social media by the radical Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM); along the bottom were the logos of CUPE Ontario, PYM, SPRING Magazine and others. Immediately, the media picked up on it. Facing national outrage, CUPE Ontario pledged support for the rally in a statement released June 17, adding that the flyer in question was an 'early unapproved draft version.'
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On June 20, the national branch of CUPE released a statement declaring itself an 'anti-war union'; it didn't address the 'Hands Off Iran' rally directly, but it did declare 'solidarity with workers in Iran' while denouncing human rights abuses in the country.
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'CUPE calls on Canada to unequivocally condemn the escalating attacks between Israel and Iran, oppose President Trump's reckless threats of nuclear war, and state plainly Canada's intent to pursue diplomatic solutions and opposition to military conflict in the region,' it concluded.
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For a number of reasons, CUPE's statements weren't just damage control, but a masterclass in deception.
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First, CUPE Ontario organized the rally in collaboration with PYM, an effective proxy for the Iranian regime in Canada that openly celebrated the October 7 massacre and has called for intifada on Canadian streets. When this is the union's chosen partner to promote a protest, it is certainly not an anti-war rally — even if it's labelled that way — but a hate rally.
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Second, by declaring itself an 'anti-war union,' as it did in its recent statement, the national branch of CUPE played its members for fools. The Islamic Republic of Iran, an Islamic theocracy, is the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism; it funds a global network of proxies, some of which might be sleeper cells here. One can only hope our national security agencies are paying very close attention.
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Third, both statements conveniently overlooked Iran's decades-long, openly genocidal chants of 'Death to Israel' and 'Death to America,' and ignored last month's report from the International Atomic Energy Agency that the regime has enough material for multiple nuclear warheads. A nuclear bomb within the grasp of religious fanatics who promise to use it has nothing to do with peace. When CUPE's leadership runs cover for extremist theocrats, they make a mockery of peace while betraying their members with foreign propaganda.