NCCAR Working For You

·         MPs returning from NCCAR Mission to MidEast Speak in Ottawa

·         Government Cuts International Internship Programme

·         NCCAR Supports Egyptian Embassy Art Exhibition by Marlene-Luce Tremblay

·         NCCAR Co-sponsors Event with CEPAL for Dr. Aruri on the Right of Return

·         NCCAR Supports Musical Event by Palestinian band Sabreen

·         NCCAR in the Media

In Government/Parliament

·         News Releases/Speeches

·         House of Commons Debates

·         The Senate Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee

 

Events & Postings

• Syrian TV Show on Rogers TV – November 11 – Ottawa
• ACUGA Silver Jubilee Dinner Gala – November 11 - Ottawa
• Art Exhibits by Dr. Ibrahim Shalaby – November 10-12 – Ottawa/Gatineau
• Festival du Monde Arabe - October 26-November 12 – Montréal
• Fun-da-Mental Differences MidEast Comedy Night – November 15 - Montreal
• Lecture by British MP George Galloway on Lebanon – November 17 - Montreal
• Canadian Muslim Women at the Crossroads - November 18 - Gatineau
• LCHA-UNICEF Tennis Tournament - November 18 - Pointe Claire
• 5th Toronto Arab Film Festival – November 29-December 3 – Toronto
• Museum of Civilization-Petra: Lost City of Stone - April 7-Jan 2, 2007 - Gatineau

Announcements

• Calendar for Montreal Events
• New Website on International Humanitarian Law

Job/Volunteer Opportunities

• Volunteer for NCCAR

Important Contact Information

Support NCCAR

 

NCCAR WORKING FOR YOU

 

MPs returning from NCCAR Mission to MidEast Speak in Ottawa

Bloc Québécois MP Maria Mourani and Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj were the guest speakers at a dinner held in Ottawa by the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations. The Stories from the Ground event allowed the MPs to give their impressions of what they saw on the ground in Lebanon only days after a ceasefire was brokered. NDP MP Peggy Nash was unable to attend due to a family emergency. Riccardo Fillipone from her office said a few words on her behalf. Arab-Canadian community newspaper Sada Al Mashrek covered the dinner and will have coverage of the event in their next edition. NCCAR organised the fact-finding mission to Lebanon, Egypt and Syria in August where the MPs met with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa as well as dozens of politicians, civil society members and international experts. NCCAR is organising the second leg of the mission to include Palestine, Israel and Jordan. Similar events with the MPs who participated in the non-partisan trip (a Conservative MP had confirmed he would participate in the mission but pulled out at the last minute) are being planned in other Canadian cities. For more information on the delegation, please visit: http://www.nccar.ca/programs/parl_delegation.htm

 

Government Cuts International Internship Programme
A recent announcement of funding cuts to government programmes made by Treasury Board Minister John Baird included the Young Professionals International programme, which NCCAR has implemented since 1998. The programme, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, allowed NCCAR to send Canadian youth of all backgrounds to work for six months in the Arab world. This year's 10 participants are in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria working for such distinguished organisations as the League of Arab States, Al-Ahram Weekly, Egypt Today, l'Économiste, Réalités, and the Jordan Times. On average, approximately 400 youth, and just over 40 Implementing Organizations and 300 Host Organizations participate in YPI per year. NCCAR believes that if Canada is to have a more prominent place on the world stage, we must have policy makers who have experienced the world and this internship programme did just that. This is why NCCAR has partnered with other implementing organisations to help organise an advocacy campaign with former participants who are speaking with government representatives about why this programme is important to young Canadian professionals. We will keep you informed about our efforts to save this important initiative. Annik Lussier, NCCAR Director of Communication, participated in a news conference on Parliament Hill alongside other implementing organizations, including United Nations Association of Canada, Canadian Bar Association, Mines Action Canada, and with Foreign Affairs Critics, Keith Martin (Liberal), Alexa McDonough (NDP), as well as Vivian Barbot (Bloc) to ask the government to reinstate the YPI program.

 

NCCAR Supports Egyptian Embassy Art Exhibition by Marlene-Luce Tremblay

From October 30 to November 3 – The Press Office of the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt organized an art exhibition entitled, “Iconic Egypt and Beyond”, in cooperation with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations. Photographer-artist Marlene-Luce Tremblay created the Egyptian series through “pintographs”. The series was commissioned in 2004 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Canada and was shown in Montreal, Cairo, and Paris, and will also be shown in Rome next year. While the Egyptian series stands alone, it is part of a larger project of cultural exchanges designed to foster a rapprochement between the Western and the Arab worlds. The launch of the exhibition was attended by Egyptian ambassador, HE Dr. Mahmoud El-Saeed and Middle East Bureau Director General, Gordon Venner, as well as various dignitaries and members of the Egyptian and Arab communities in Ottawa.

 

NCCAR Co-sponsors Event with CEPAL for Dr. Naseer Aruri on the Right of Return

On November 27, Dr. Naseer Aruri, Chancellor professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts, will be the keynote speaker for the event, “Recipes for Human Rights: Reaffirming the Palestinian Right of Return.” The visit is being organized by the Canadian-Palestinian Educational Exchange and co-sponsored by Libby Davies, MP Vancouver East, and NCCAR, as part of the commemoration of the UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Visit www.cepal.ca for more information about this event.

 

NCCAR Supports Musical Event by Palestinian band Sabreen

On Novemeber 18 at Centerpointe Theater in Ottawa, the Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (www.sphr.org) in collaboration with Association of Canadian Arab Palestinians (APAC), Medical Aid for Palestine (MAP), the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF), and the National Council on Canada-Arab Relations (NCCAR), present a night of music with world-renowned Palestinian band SABREEN. The group was formed in 1980 with a vision focused on the development of the Palestinian modern song, reflecting the humanitarian and cultural reality, and the suffering endured from the political situation in particular. For more information and reservations, contact 613-820-0904 or sabreen@apacottawa.com.

 

NCCAR in the Media
NCCAR Executive Director Mazen Chouaib recently commented on the debate over dual citizenship in Canada on the John Tory show on TVO. NCCAR VP Bahija Réghaï was featured on CPAC with Steven G. Slimovitch, legal counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, to discuss the Middle East conflict and statements on the subject made recently by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Liberal Party of Canada leadership candidate Michael Ignatieff. A letter to the editor was written by a coalition of YPI implementing organizations, including NCCAR, was published in the Daily Gleaner (Fredericton).

• Harper leaps into the foreign policy pond
  Victoria Times Colonist, Canada - 16 Sep 2006
• Restrictions accepted as way of life in Afghanistan
  The Daily Gleaner (subscription), Canada - 11 Nov 2006
• John Tory | The Tory Road Back to Power
  TVO, Canada – 27 Oct 2006
• Revue Politique
  CPAC – 20 Oct 2006
  Watch video link

 

IN GOVERNMENT/PARLIAMENT

 

Government News Releases

• Minister of Foreign Affairs – Hon. Peter MacKay
  No. 126 - November 2, 2006
  CANADA CONTRIBUTES $1 MILLION TO UN REFUGEE AGENCY
  
   
• NDP Leader – October 23, 2006
  Statement by Jack Layton on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr
  http://www.ndp.ca/page/4473
• Leader of the Opposition – October 24, 2006
  Statement by the Honourable Bill Graham on Eid al-Fitr
  http://www.liberal.ca/news_e.aspx?type=pressrelease&id=11990
  
   

House of Commons Proceedings

 

The 39th Parliament of Canada has commenced its sessions for Fall 2006. Visit www.parl.gc.ca for all the information you need to know about Parliament (House of Commons and Senate of Canada) and find current information about Members of Parliament (MPs). Below are some of the comments made during the debates in the House of Commons (Hansards) which are of interest. Click on the MP's name to see complete comment.

 

Hansard - 76 (2006/11/3)

Hon. Keith Martin - Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca

Mr. Speaker, last Wednesday the Minister of Foreign Affairs compared the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon to “the same kind of chaos at a shoppin...

 

Hansard - 73 (2006/10/31)

Hon. Garth Turner - Halton

Mr. Speaker, last summer a family in my riding stood helplessly on a dock in Beirut watching as Lebanese citizens, waving Canadian passports, were eva...

 

Hansard - 70 (2006/10/26)

Gary Schellenberger - Perth-Wellington

Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from many petitioners in my riding in support for Darfur....

 

Rahim Jaffer - Edmonton-Strathcona

Mr. Speaker, last month I rose in the House to wish Muslims across Canada and around the world a successful Ramadan. With the conclusion of the holy m...

 

Hansard - 68 (2006/10/24)

Sukh Dhaliwal - Newton-North Delta

Mr. Speaker, it was truly an honour for me to attend Diwali celebrations with Hindu and Sikh communities....

 

Hansard - 59 (2006/10/4)

Bernard Patry - Pierrefonds-Dollard

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour of presenting to the House, in both official languages, the report of the interparlia...

 

Hansard - 57 (2006/10/2)

Caroline St-Hilaire - Longueuil-Pierre-Boucher

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada's decision to suspend direct aid to the Palestinian Authority worsens the humanitarian crisis and is a hard blow...

 

Hon. Josée Verner - Minister of International Cooperation and Minister for la Francophonie and Official Languages

Mr. Speaker, I can assure the Bloc Québécois member that CIDA makes every effort to assist the most needy. As requested by the member, I will look int...

 

 

 

The Senate Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee
On Wednesday, November 1, the Senate Foreign Affairs and International Trade Committee met to examine and report on the evacuation of Canadian citizens from Lebanon in July 2006. Appearing in front of the committee was The Honourable Peter MacKay, P.C., M.P., Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Witnesses were Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada's  Peter Boehm, Assistant Deputy Minister, North America (and Consular Affairs) and Robert Desjardins, Director General, Consular Affairs Bureau.

 

*****

EVENTS AND POSTINGS

 

 

Syrian TV Show on Rogers TV – November 11 – Ottawa

The Syrian Canadian Club have produced a show to be aired in Arabic on Rogers Television 22 on November 11 at 10:30am. The show is presented by host Nidal El Kadri. The guest of the show is Mr. Fadi Khouri. The show will present information about past and upcoming events that have been coordinated or done in collaboration with the SCC-Ottawa. For more information, email nidal.kadri@e-liban.com.

 

ACUGA Silver Jubilee Dinner Gala – November 11 - Ottawa

The Arab Canadian University Graduates Association (ACUGA) cordially invite you to their Silver Jubilee Annual Dinner Gala on Saturday, November 11 at 8:00 pm at St. Elias Centre (750 Ridgewood Street). Entertainment will be provided by George Hajjar and his band as well as a fashion show compliments of Elee Salon and Spa. Cost: $50 (adult), $25 (Children under 12). For reservation, please call (613) 247-1088 between 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm.

 

Art Exhibits by Dr. Ibrahim Shalaby – November 10-12 – Ottawa/Gatineau

Dr. Ibrahim Shalaby, PhD in fine arts, is an Architect and Interior Designer, as well as President of the Canadian Arab Organization of Culture and (CAOCA). His art will be displayed at various locations during the events of several organizations in Ottawa and Gatineau. The schedule is: Friday Nov.10 at Carlton University organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights and the Lebanese Students Club from 9am to 6 pm.; Friday  Nov. 10, from 7:30 pm to midnight at the LEBANORAMA event held at the Canadian Museum of Civilization; Saturday, Nov. 11 from 7 pm at the Silver Jubilee Gala Dinner by the Arab Canadian Association at St. Elias Cathedral Hall (750 Ridgewood Ave.); and on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 5:30 pm during the Council of Lebanese Canadians and Free Patriotic Movement annual conference at St. Elias Cathedral Hall.

 

Festival du Monde Arabe - October 26-November 12 - Montréal

Festival du Monde Arabe (FMA) or the Montreal Arab World Festival is the only event in North America that is fully dedicated to Arabic culture; its diversity as well as its universality.  In their search for innovative and contemporary artistic forms, the creators of FMA have drawn their artistic vision from the rich musical, literal, spiritual, philosophical and scientific Arab heritage shared by hundreds of millions of people of different backgrounds and religions in the four corners of the globe. Produced by Alchimies Créations et Cultures, the FMA is a multidisciplinary festival dedicated to cultural dialogue. For complete details about the 7th FMA, visit www.festivalarabe.com/fma/catalog.jsp.

 

Fun-da-Mental Differences MidEast Comedy Night – November 15 - Montreal

The Montreal Dialogue Group (MDG) brings Canadians of Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Muslim, Christian and Jewish identities together in dialogue. On Wednesday, November 15, the MDG will be hosting a benefit comedy event called “Fun-da-Mental Differences – Middle Eastern Comedy Night”.  The event will feature 5 comedians from Toronto and Montreal (Wafik Nasralla, Rasul Somji, Dave Mehere, Phil Shuchat and Ryan Wilner) who will come together for the first time and for one night only to make light of a serious situation.   The evening will take place at The Comedy Nest. For additional information, visit www.dialoguegroup.org.

 

Lecture by British MP George Galloway on Lebanon – November 17 - Montreal

In celebration of the 74th Anniversary of the Syrian Social Nationalist Movement, An-Nahda Social Cultural Centre in cooperation with SSA Concordia invites you to attend “War and Occupation: After Lebanon! What is next?”. A lecture by British MP George Galloway on Friday, November 17 at 6:30 PM, Concordia University, H-110. Tickets are for $10 ($15 at door). For reservations, call (514)802-8784 or (514)963-9351 or write to annahda.montreal@hotmail.com or info@syrianstudents.com.

 

Canadian Muslim Women at the Crossroads - November 18 - Gatineau

The Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) will be presenting keynote speakers as part of their national conference at the Four Points Par Sheraton Hotel, between 8am-5pm. Please visit www.ccmw.com for registration information.

 

LCHA-UNICEF Tennis Tournament - November 18 - Pointe Claire
The Lebanese Canadian Heritage Association is pleased to invite you to the 1^st annual LCHA - UNICEF Singles Tennis Tournament 2006 & dinner on November 18 @ 1:30 pm at Club Mirabel Pointe Claire (355 Brunswick Blvd., Pointe Claire). By participating in the Tennis Tournament, you will be contributing to UNICEF's humanitarian relief work in Lebanon; 50% of the net proceeds raised from this event will be donated to UNICEF for its activities in Lebanon.  The Round Robin Singles Tournament will be followed by dinner and entertainment. Feel free to contact the LCHA at (514) 274-3583 or by email at: lcha@bellnet.ca to get information about registration for the tournament. Prices are: $100.00 per player (LCHA non-member), $90.00 per player (LCHA members), $75.00 per player (Students), $40.00 per person for DINNER ONLY.

 

5th Toronto Arab Film Festival – November 29-December 3 – Toronto

The fifth annual Toronto Arab Film Festival (TAFF) will run from November 29 to December 3, 2006. TAFF is a Toronto-based, artist-run collective dedicated to the development and presentation of a diverse range of Arab film and video. TAFF is an independent, non-profit, non-sectarian collective that exhibits and promotes films and videos by Arab Canadian artists and films about the Arab world. It aims to engage Arab Canadians and others committed to the ethnic diversity of Canadian film and video by providing a venue for their narratives. The 2006 programme information is the website at www.taff.ca.

 

Museum of Civilization-Petra: Lost City of Stone - April 7-Jan 2, 2007 - Gatineau

100 Laurier Street, Gatineau (on the banks of the Ottawa River and opposite Parliament Hill). This exhibition is the most complete portrait ever mounted of the amazing and enigmatic city of Petra. It tells the story of this once-thriving metropolis at the crossroads of the ancient world's major trade routes and of the technological virtuosity that allowed the Nabateans to build and maintain Petra in the harsh desert environment. For 4 centuries beginning in 200 BC, Petra stood at the crossroads of the Silk Road and the spice routes that connected China, India and Arabia with markets in Greece, Rome, Egypt and Syria. The exhibition is organized by the Cincinnati Art Museum and the American Museum of Natural History. Info: www.civilization.ca

 

For a comprehensive list of trade events in the Middle East and North Africa region, please visit http://www.middleeastevents.com.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

Calendar for Montreal Events

A calendar has been made for residents of Montreal who wish to inquire about events relating to the Lebanon and Israeli Aggression at http://tadamon.resist.ca/index.php/?p=123

                        

New Website on International Humanitarian Law

Diakonia has launched website called Easy Guide to international humanitarian law in the occupied Palestinian territory at www.diakonia.se/ihl. The website provides basic information about international humanitarian law (IHL) in general and the IHL-situation in the occupied Palestinian territory in particular. The texts are written in an easy language for non-lawyers and are available both in English and in Swedish.

 

JOB AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

 

Volunteer for NCCAR

 

NCCAR is looking for research volunteers and volunteers to help with the organization of our Speakers' Bureau tours, National Conferences and projects, and many other general administrative tasks at our office in Ottawa, as well as with other projects. Contact Essam Farag at essamfarag@nccar.ca or on our website at www.nccar.ca/joinus/volunteer.html.

 

Important Contact Information

 

Office of the Prime Minister, Right Hon. Stephen Harper
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A2
Tel:(613) 992-4211, Fax:(613) 941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca

 

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Peter MacKay
125 Sussex Drive,
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0G2
Tel:(613) 995-1851, Toll Free: 1-866-880-4378, Fax:(613) 996-3443
E-mail: mackay.p@parl.gc.ca

 

Other Foreign Affairs Departments

 

SUPPORT NCCAR

 

Membership Categories:

Sustaining Donor: $5000  (Code: DM-06)
Association/Corporate Member:  $1000 (Code: CBM-06)
Sustaining Member: $500 (Code: STM-06)
Regular Member: $100 (Code: RM-06)
Student Member: $35 (Code: SM-06)

 

Membership Form (PDF)
[Click Here]

 

NCCAR is a non-profit organization committed to building bridges of understanding and cooperation between Canada and the Arab world. NCCAR receives its financial support from individual members, corporate and individual donations, and direct fundraising initiatives. You can help by providing a financial contribution, becoming a member, volunteering and by circulating our message.