By Kellah Lavoie

Rallying for peace in PA

Dec 5, 2010 | 10:37 AM

Songs of peace, protest and hope filled a local coffee shop yesterday.

It was the third annual Peace Rally.

Rick Sawa, from the Prince Albert chapter of the Council of Canadians, organized the event. He said the goal was to bring light to the topic of Canadian peace keeping

“We would like our country to move back to the peace keeping that we did at one time and move away from the war business,” he said.

The issue was addressed through songs from nine singers or musical groups who spread their message, to a full crowd at Great Western Coffee, through song.

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“It just brings the issue to the forefront… it just lets people know that there is another opinion out there, that spending money on a war could be better spent on programs like health care and pharmacare and renewable energy, public transit,” Sawa said.

“We just feel there is better ways to spend money. It’s already cost $11 billion for this war and now it’s been extended three more years, and that’s going to be 750 million a year for three more years.”

For a third year the peace rally is trying to get the message across.

Sawa said, the timing of the event is important too. They tried to keep it far enough away from Remembrance Day as to not disrespect veterans.

“You know we are certainly not anti-troops. These people have been trained and are doing what they are told to do.

“So we do not want to be disrespectful in that regard we just want to say that we were well known at one time for out peace keeping, and now, from what I hear, we can fit our peacekeepers in that back of a van,” he said.

Not only were they spreading their message, but Sawa said they are doing it in a peaceful way.

“The federal government has money for wars and prisons and very little for people and we want to bring that to the forefront.”

klavoie@panow.com