NDP sees 'opportunity' to push Liberal government on Palestinian statehood
The NDP is urging the Liberals to recognize Palestinian statehood, warning that a Conservative government would not protect international law in the Middle East.
"If we go to an election within weeks or months, and if there is a Conservative government, this will not happen," NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson said Monday.
She accused the Liberals of lacking "moral courage and political will" to advance the Trudeau government's stated goal of advancing a two-state solution, where Israel and a Palestinian country exist peacefully.
McPherson says Canada ought to recognize Palestinian statehood before any snap election. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has been leading in the polls for months, and McPherson argued the party has been uncritically supportive of Israel.
"We have heard from Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives that they have no interest in international law, they have no interest in protecting the rights of Palestinians," she said.
Tory foreign affairs critic Michael Chong wrote in a statement that Israel is defending itself against terrorism by Hamas and Hezbollah.
"Conservatives recognize that Israel is a democratic state defending itself in a fight between democracy and rising authoritarianism," he wrote. "There is no question which side Canada should be on."
The NDP is also seeking a two-way arms embargo, where Canada would go beyond barring new arms permits and actually block all military trade, including goods arriving from Israel.
The Liberals have restricted weapons sales by halting new permits and pausing some that were already in place. But the U.S. government has proposed buying Canadian arms and sending them to Israel, which Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has said she is looking into.
The NDP also wants Canada to go beyond sanctioning certain settlers in the West Bank and impose a ban on at least far-right ministers in the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. McPherson said two had uttered "genocidal language against the Palestinian people."
Ottawa condemned Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich last month for suggesting it would be justified to starve Palestinians, and he previously said the Palestinian village of Huwara should be erased.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who is part of a Jewish supremacist party, has called on Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip and have Israelis settle the territory, which has prompted accusations of ethnic cleansing.
The Liberals and Conservatives did not have an immediate response to McPherson's criticisms.
McPherson noted the government could act on her three proposals without a vote in Parliament or a parliamentary study.
Israeli strikes on Monday killed more than 270 people in Lebanon and wounded a thousand people, as part of a campaign the Israeli government says is meant to stop Hezbollah militants from ongoing rocket attacks that have caused the evacuation of large swaths of northern Israel.
Canada recognized Hezbollah as a terrorist group, and McPherson said the rocket attacks need to stop.
She also says international law is being violated, including in pager explosions that killed Hezbollah militants as well as civilians and children. The attacks are widely believed to have been done by Israel.
McPherson would not say whether she believes the "indiscriminate" pager attack is an act of terrorism when asked twice on Monday.
"We know that Hezbollah is a listed terrorist entity, but the (Israeli) government is breaking international law when they are using indiscriminate weapons and the people of Lebanon are suffering," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½
Liberal, Conservative MPs to speak at Oct. 7 march to Parliament Hill
A Liberal MP and a Conservative MP will be part of a team delivering speeches at an event in Ottawa commemorating the one year anniversary of the attacks on Oct. 7.
'Sober curious': Younger Canadians turning away from alcohol, data says
According to a survey on recent alcohol consumption, younger Canadians are more likely to have not had a drink in the past week. For those interested in slowing or stopping their alcohol consumption, there's a phrase: 'sober curious.'
Taste of home: Tiffin lunch boxes bring comfort, affordability to immigrants
Yugali Bharote starts her day in the kitchen, preparing lunch boxes for her sons bound for school – but she doesn’t stop there. She then prepares almost a dozen lunch boxes for customers who have subscribed to her homemade meals.
'We will never be the same': Oct. 7 killing of Montreal native leaves gaping hole
Alexandre Look, a 33-year-old Montreal native, was among the concertgoers who were murdered a year ago Monday at the Supernova music festival during a brutal assault on Israel carried out by Hamas militants. He is among at least eight people, either Canadian citizens or with ties to Canada, who died during the Oct. 7 attacks.
Death and fashion abound in Jeanne Beker's new memoir, 'Heart on My Sleeve'
But after fashion, death is the second through line in 'Heart on My Sleeve,' which tells the TV personality's life story as reflected by the items in her wardrobe.
A driver suffered only minor injuries after going airborne in a residential neighbourhood in Maple Ridge, B.C., on Friday, the car eventually landing on its roof in someone’s backyard.
Three people were taken to hospital after a crash between a pickup truck and a car in a rural part of Ottawa's south end on Saturday afternoon.
Frequent drinking of fizzy beverages and fruit juice are linked to an increased risk of stroke: research
New data raises questions about the drinks people consume and the potential risks associated with them, according to researchers at Galway University in Ireland, in partnership with Hamilton’s McMaster University.
Tropical Storm Milton forms in Gulf of Mexico and could intensify to hurricane threatening Florida
A storm system that was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico strengthened into Tropical Storm Milton on Saturday and forecasters warned it could intensify into a hurricane and slam into the west coast of Florida later this week.
Local Spotlight
Chantal Kreviazuk is set to return to Winnipeg to mark a major milestone in her illustrious musical career.
From the beaches of Cannes to the bustling streets of New York City, a new film by a trio of Manitoba directors has toured the international film festival circuit to much pomp and circumstance.
A husband and wife have been on the road trip of a lifetime and have decided to stop in Saskatchewan for the winter.
The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.
A group of classic car enthusiasts donated hundreds of blankets to nursing homes in Nova Scotia.
Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north
What does New Westminster's təməsew̓txʷ Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.
The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.
New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.