Welcome to Engineers For Justice. We are a growing group of professional engineers in Canada who are deeply concerned with the current humanitarian crisis which has been quietly unfolding in Gaza for the last two years.

We, as Canadian citizens, are particularly troubled by the actions of our current conservative government with respect to its failure in protecting our country's long standing tradition in championing international law and universal human rights.

The people of Gaza are currently living under an illegal, brutal and punitive siege by the state of Israel. The siege has been described by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter as having "brought death, destruction, pain and suffering to the people there" and that the "...international community must not ignore their cries for help." As a fellowship of engineers from all races, beliefs and orientation, we do not identify ourselves as pro-Palestinian or pro-Israel, but pro-Justice.

International law, rooted in the Geneva Conventions, establishes a duty of care to civilan populations by all occupying powers, including Israel. A similar duty of care to civilian populations, or the public, is echoed in our own Engineering code of ethics, which is enshrined in the Professional Engineering Act, R.R.O. 1990, Regulation 941, Section 77 (Code of Ethics) and can be summarized by one basic yet paramount principle:

"A practioner shall regard the pracitioner's duty to public welfare as paramount."

This priniciple is viewed as an ethical duty, inspite of its legal enforceability by Canadian law. In other words, we as engineers identify this priniciple as paramount not only because it is a legal requirement in the practice of professional engineering, but also because it is the key priniciple which defines our ethics...in other words, it is just.  Without this principle, our society would cease to function in a safe, secure and predictable manner.

The Fourth Geneva Convention, Section III provides a similar code of ethics, which all parties involved in armed conflict are bound to.  This paramount principle was born out of the Nuremberg Trials, and paid with the blood of many men, including the lives of thousands of Canadian soldiers.  Failure to abide by the Geneva Conventions is not only illegal under international law, failure to uphold its principles will ensure an unsafe, unsecure and unpredictable world, making the sacrifice in blood and treasure spent in World War II worthless. Nothing less than the ability to enforce and maintain world peace is at stake.

As such, we refuse to stand idly by while our current government refuses to acknowledge Israel's obligations under international law to end the siege. By refusing to abide by and uphold international law on this specific matter, our government is complicit in inflicting unnecessary suffering on the Palestinian people living in Gaza in addition to causing permanent damage to the international system of law as a legitimate instrument in protecting the innocent and defenseless.

If you would like to participate in the effort to end the siege, please join our mailing list to receive updates and learn about future gatherings and events.

We refuse to stay silent as a matter of conscience.

"One who condones evils is just as guilty as the one who perpetrates it." - Martin Luther King.