Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the EY Centre on June 1, 2023 in Ottawa for a convention that supports the weapon and defence industry, CityNews reported. CANSEC is organized annually by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI).
In attendance was Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand, 55 international delegations, and thousands of attendees including manufacturers, military technology and supply companies, media outlets, and government agencies.
CBC reported that Ukraine's defence minister made a plea for more sophisticated weapons directly to Canada's defence manufacturers via video at the arms show. Oleksii Reznikov told the audience assembled for Canada's largest defence exposition that his country has urgent military equipment needs that must be filled.
"Hence, we count on Canada's long-term support in this area," Reznikov told CANSEC participants and corporate exhibitors.
Here is a report from Democracy Now and photos from the protest shared on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/CoolerRoohafza/status/1664693502809198596
https://twitter.com/WorldBeyondWar/status/1663957082477928448
https://twitter.com/Morgan_Gay/status/1663908296552591361
https://twitter.com/PBIcanada/status/1664234088671113217
(Cover image by Koozma J. Tarasoff)