Midland protesters demand Raytheon ELCAN 'stop deadly deeds'

Chanting “Raytheon ELCAN, what do you say? How many kids have you killed today?” about 30 protesters arrived at the Midland plant with a clear message for the company.

The Saturday afternoon protest clearly had the company in its sights with a barrage of slogans and signs claiming the company’s high-precision optical systems have played a part in the killing of children during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Raytheon, stop your deadly deeds. No more bombs on Gaza today,” the group shouted as a security guard watched from about 150 feet away behind a high, chain-link fence.

“Palestine needs to carry on. Raytheon, we'll take no more.”

Monica Mitra Chaudhuri, who helped organize the Midland protest, said the local event is part of a larger movement taking place across Canada.

“This is a national day of action to protest any company that produces components for F-35 fighter jets,” she said. “This company (Raytheon) produces optics for weapons.”

Mitra Chaudhuri said it’s important that Canadians understand work being done at companies here can have far-reaching consequences in other lands.

“It’s very important to take action,” she said. “We don’t want any regions to kill any children. We know that Canada and the United States sell weapons to Israel.”

But not everyone was happy with the protesters who gathered at Regent Park, which is located a stone’s throw from the Midland plant.

“Let me guess. You’re f—ing cidiots who just moved here,” one man, who lives in the neighbourhood, said before targeting one specific protester. “Yeah, ponytail bitch, f— off.”

After this interaction, organizers quickly told those in attendance “not to engage with anybody who’s hostile.”

Those in attendance travelled from Orillia, Colllingwood, Sudbury, Barrie and Owen Sound to voice their concerns about what they view as issues with Raytheon’s business practices.

“We hope to create awareness and educate people,” Mitra Chaudhuri said. “People may not realize they can have an impact.”

A Raytheon spokesperson did not return a request for comment by publication time.

According to its website, the company produces ELCAN Specter Sights, which “are military optical combat sights that help shooters see better and farther in extreme environments and unpredictable situations. ELCAN sights deliver proven solutions for U.S., Canada, U.K, Australia and other international, allied militaries.”

Orillia resident Doc Higgins, who’s involved with the Simcoe County 4 Palestine group, said it’s important that Canadians stand up against what he views as an untenable situation in the Middle East.

When asked whether the conflict actually started last Oct. 7, when Hamas unleashed a major attack against Israel civilians, Higgins said the problem actually began in 1948, when Israel became an independent sovereign state on the same day the British Mandate over Palestine officially ended.

“Oct. 7 is just one of the many steps of the interactions that’s been happening (since 1948),” he said. “What we’re concerned about now is genocide.”

Higgins’s wife, Lorna Bolden, said she’s saddened when she thinks children are being killed on both sides of the conflict.

She added: “I think it’s sad that anyone would find it OK to bomb schools or hurt children.”