BEIRUT — Lebanon’s Bahaa al-Hariri declared on Friday he was entering Lebanese politics, saying he would join a battle “to take back the country” and follow in the footsteps of his slain father days after his brother, Saad, stepped away from public life.
In a recorded message, Bahaa, 55, said he would “continue the journey” of Rafik al-Hariri, who, with Saudi backing, established the Hariri family as the dominant player in Lebanon’s Sunni community before his assassination in 2005.
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“Through partnership and solidarity, we will enter the battle to take back the country and the sovereignty of the country from its occupiers,” said Bahaa, an apparent reference to the Iran-backed Shi’ite group Hezbollah of which he is a fierce critic.
Saad’s announcement upended Lebanon’s sectarian politics four months before a parliamentary election, adding to the uncertainties facing a nation grappling with a devastating financial crisis.
He attributed the decision to factors including Iranian influence which he said prevented positive change in Lebanon.
Bahaa is a Saudi-Lebanese national whose business interests include real estate developments in Jordan and Lebanon, according to his website.
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“The son of the martyr Rafik Hariri will not leave Lebanon, I am with you and very soon I will be among you,” Bahaa said.
But he will not be a candidate in the elections and will instead back electoral lists across Lebanon under the banner of Sawa Li Lubnan, a movement he founded and financed with the aim of reform, Jerry Maher, his media advisor, told Reuters.
DIFFICULT VOID TO FILL
Saad was chosen to take on his father’s political mantle in 2005 and served as prime minister three times. The early years of his career were marked by confrontation with Hezbollah that sparked a brief conflict in 2008.
He later struck political compromises with the group, which he said spared Lebanon civil war. His political fortunes waned in recent years as Saudi Arabia cut him off, abandoning a Lebanon policy that cost billions and failed to curb Hezbollah.
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“It’s a signal that he will not allow a void in Sunni politics, that he is stepping in to carry the mantle,” said Mohanad Hage Ali of the Carnegie Middle East Center.
“At the same time it is very difficult to see him filling the void, unless there is regional backing and solid financing behind him. If he is willing to spend money on the Sunni scene, perhaps he might have a chance.”
Bahaa has been an open, fierce critic of compromises Saad made with Hezbollah and its allies.
Saad, in his announcement on Monday, said his decision aimed to spare Lebanon civil war but had cost him his fortune and “even brothers,” a reference to tension with Bahaa. (Additional reporting by Tom Perry; Writing by Nayera Abdallah and Tom Perry; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Grant McCool)
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
