Canada Signs Military Agreement. Accountability Starts Now!
November 4, 2025
We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, express deep concern and opposition to the signing of the Status of Visiting Forces Agreement (SOVFA) between Canada and the Philippines on November 2, 2025.
By entering into this agreement, the Government of Canada risks binding our country’s name and reputation to a military establishment long accused of massive corruption and systemic human rights violations, including enforced disappearances, red-tagging, and extra-judicial killings of journalists, activists, and Indigenous peoples.
This deal undermines Canada’s stated commitment to human rights, peace, and democratic governance. It entangles our armed forces in operations marked by impunity and aligns Canada with regimes that repress their own citizens. The Government has justified this agreement as a step toward peace and stability; we will hold it to that promise. Every rights violation committed under this pact, every displaced family, every silenced voice will also carry Canada’s imprint.
This agreement does not stand alone. It is part of a growing web of foreign military pacts across the Indo-Pacific region that escalate militarization and increase the risk of armed conflict. By mirroring U.S. security priorities, Canada compromises its independent voice in promoting peace and human rights in Asia.
In the Philippines, the SOVFA bypasses the Senate, raising serious constitutional and sovereignty concerns. It perpetuates a system in which major defense and security decisions are made without the consent of the Filipino people—those most affected by foreign troop presence.
Alongside the Philippines’ existing agreements with the United States, Australia, Japan, and others, this pact further entangles the country in volatile geopolitical conflicts.
Furthermore, SOVFA contradicts several of Canada’s own policies and commitments: the Voices at Risk Guidelines, the Feminist International Assistance Policy, and the Magnitsky Law—each of which upholds the protection of human rights defenders, gender equality, transparency, and accountability. Supporting or arming human rights violators undermines these very principles and weakens Canada’s moral and diplomatic standing.
We also note that, under Canada’s Policy on the Tabling of Treaties in Parliament, any new international agreement must be presented in the House of Commons for 21 sitting days before ratification. It is unclear whether this requirement has been followed or whether Parliament and the public will be given the opportunity to scrutinize this agreement. Canadians have a right to transparency—to see the full text of the pact, to understand its implications, and to ensure that it is not ratified without open and democratic debate.
We call on the Government of Canada to:
- Disclose the full text of the SOVFA and ensure it is tabled and debated in Parliament before ratification.
- Conduct a transparent, public review of the agreement’s human rights, corruption, and governance implications.
- Suspend or reject the SOVFA as it cannot guarantee accountability, civilian oversight, and compliance with Canada’s human rights obligations.
- Reaffirm Canada’s independent commitment to peace, human rights, and democracy by engaging with peoples and civil society organizations in the Philippines, not through military pacts.
We urge Members of Parliament, civil society organizations, churches, unions, and communities across Canada to raise their voices in solidarity and demand transparency and accountability from our government.
The SOVFA will not make Canadians or Filipinos safer. It will deepen militarization, expose Canada to the consequences of corruption in security programs, and tie our nation to a government that has yet to demonstrate credible progress on human rights.
Canada cannot claim to defend freedom and democracy abroad while cooperating with a repressive military establishment and supporting an unaccountable government.
International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines-Canada (ICHRP-Canada)
Signed:
Organizations and individuals in solidarity with the Filipino people.
Ecumenical Institutions and Organizations
United Church of Canada
KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
Justice and Peace Unit, Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
Anakbayan Canada
Beaconsfield Initiative, United Church of Canada
Canada-Philippines Solidarity for Human Rights (CPSHR)
Canada-Philippines Solidarity Organization (CPSO)
Carleton University Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (CU-CHRP)
Climate Justice UBC
Gabriela BC
International Migrants Alliance (Ottawa)
Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture
Malaya Canada
Migrante Canada
Mining Justice Alliance
MiningWatch Canada (MWC)
Ontario Commitee for Human Rights in the Philippines (OCHRP)
Philippine Artists Network for Community Integrative Transformation (PANCIT)
UNIFOR
Vancouver District and Labour Council (VDLC)
Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC-CTI)
PINAY – Filipino Women’s Organization in Québec
Migrante Québec
Anakbayan Montréal
Individuals
Shira Anisman, Organizer/Graphic Designer, Surrey Dyke March
Tara Anderson, Ottawa Socialist Learning Group
Ismail Askin, Community Engagement Campaigns Coordinator, Worker Solidarity Network
Dominique Caouette, Professeur titulaire, Science politique, Université de Montréal
Katelyn Croy, Coordinator, Climate Justice UBC
Juliana Dioquino, Co-President, UBC Sprouts
Rev. Jim Manly, former Member of Parliament; UCC minister (ret.)
Eva Manly, Multidisciplinary Artist; Canadian Women’s Boat to Gaza
Rev. Harry Oussoren, Ottawa, ON
Cashton Perry, Young Communist League (Ottawa)
Dr. Valerie Raoul, Professor Emerita, Institute of Gender, Race, Sexuality & Social Justice, UBC
Yvon Raoul, Environmental Activist & Human Rights Defender
Rev. Steve Berube, Riverview, N.B.
Rev. Ariel Siagan, Minister, Asbury and West United Church
Dr. Joan Simalchik, Professor Emerita, University of Toronto
Tiffany Tsai, SurDelRock4Palestine
Minh-Ly De Reboul, Communication Coordinator, Change Course