The Liberal government’s last-minute endorsement of an amended NDP motion on Palestinian statehood is being welcomed by the country’s Muslim advocacy group and derided by Jewish voices who say Ottawa has sub-contracted its foreign policy to “anti-Israel radicals.”
The motion, introduced by NDP MP Heather McPherson, was controversial from the start. One clause in the original motion called on the government to “officially recognize the State of Palestine.”
As the war rages on in Gaza, some of Canada’s allies, including the United Kingdom, have signalled they’re open to recognizing the Palestinian territories as a state — once some key conditions are met.
The idea has been pitched as a way to revive dormant peace talks and prompt the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to Israel.
The Trudeau government took out its red pen and amended the language in McPherson’s motion to add the stipulation that Canada will “work with international partners” to “pursue the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East,” and work “towards the establishment of the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-state solution.”
Before backing the motion, the government also adjusted its section on military exports. It wouldn’t go along with a call to “suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel” but agreed to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel.”
As for UNRWA, the UN’s Palestinian relief agency, the government agreed to maintain its funding — as it has announced previously — but it added language to the motion saying it supports an internal investigation into claims that some UNRWA staff took part in the Hamas attack of Oct. 7.
The government also added verbiage about backing “long-term governance reforms” and “accountability measures” at UNRWA. The aid agency has been described by some as an essential lifeline for Gazans living through a destructive war — while some Israelis claim it has been infiltrated by Hamas-linked elements.
House passes watered-down Palestinian recognition motion
The House of Commons passed a softened NDP motion on Monday night that no longer calls for the federal government to officially recognize Palestinian statehood after last-minute amendments brought in by the governing Liberals.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the government secured important “concessions” before agreeing to the motion’s passage.
“We were able to find common ground on the question of the two-state solution, which is important for Canadians and for our country,” she said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Palestinians are “suffering on a massive scale in Gaza,” and the entire population of the territory is “on the brink of starvation.”
“Our motion offers real solutions for peace and justice, as well as steps to show that Canada can be a force for good in this world and that Canada and its leaders have the moral courage to say when enough is enough,” he said.
Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7. The surprise Hamas assault left some 1,200 people — mostly civilians but also soldiers, police officers and security officials — dead in Israel, according to officials, and saw hundreds of hostages taken to Gaza.
Gaza health officials said that, as of last week, Israel’s military campaign had killed more than 31,000 people and displaced nearly two million more.
Parliamentary vote on Palestinian statehood tests Liberal caucus
March 18, 2024 – “We’ve given the Liberals our red lines,” says NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson ahead of a vote on the opposition day motion brought forward by her party. The non-binding motion calls on the Canadian government to take a number of actions in response to the war in the Gaza Strip, including “officially” recognizing “the State of Palestine.” Plus, we have reaction from Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who is calling the motion a “huge slap in the face” for Canada’s Jewish community.
McPherson said she was amenable to the government’s changes because the motion was never meant to be “a ‘gotcha’ motion” — the party wanted the government to come on side.
“This is a moment in time where we need to come up with a better solution for peace in the Middle East,” she told CBC News.
The government’s changes meant that a motion that was destined to fail — fewer than a dozen Liberal MPs told CBC News earlier Monday they would vote in favour — easily carried the House of Commons, with only the staunchly pro-Israel Conservative caucus, three Liberals and an Independent MP voting nay.
The final vote count was 204 in favour and 117 voting against.
Motion ‘rewards Hamas,’ says Liberal MP
MP Anthony Housefather, one of the Liberals who voted no, said Canada’s Jewish community is feeling “demoralized and intimidated” as it grapples with a spike in antisemitism.
In a speech to the Commons, Housefather said the motion “rewards Hamas,” because it creates “a false equivalency between the State of Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“Canada should be standing with Israel. Canada should be defending the right of Israel to fight back against a terrorist organization. We should not be passing motions that make a terrorist organization equivalent to a democratic state,” he said.
Liberal MP says he has to reflect after Liberals voted for amended motion on Palestinian statehood
Anthony Housefather says he felt ‘a line [was] crossed’ when his caucus colleagues applauded the NDP MP who brought forward a motion on Palestinian statehood Monday. Housefather says he is reflecting on the motion and whether he can stay in the role of parliamentary secretary. The Liberal government endorsed an amended version of the motion.
The amended motion passed by the Commons does describe Hamas as “a listed terrorist organization.”
The government agreed to language demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza — but added the stipulation that Hamas “must lay down its arms.”
Asked if he could stay on as a parliamentary secretary after the government’s endorsement, Housefather told CBC News he would “take the time to reflect.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday before question period, Housefather, who appeared emotional, said he’s re-evaluating his place in the Liberal caucus after last night’s vote. He said he’d “take the time to reflect” on whether he can stay on as a parliamentary secretary.
“I truly felt last night that a line had been crossed,” Housefather said.
“When my party members cheered and gave a standing ovation to Heather McPherson and the NDP, I started reflecting on whether or not I belonged. I didn’t feel like some MPs — or a lot of MPs — understood the existential threat that Israel faces.
“I am such a proud Canadian but I also care passionately about the state of Israel because it’s the only refuge for Jewish people when they’re exiled or thrown out of countries. You need an Israel.”
He said the government didn’t have to vote for an NDP opposition day motion — it made a choice to adopt something that’s been widely panned by many Jewish Canadians, he said. “It easily could have been voted down,” he said. “That should have been the course.”
While he’s uneasy about his place in the party he’s called home for most of his life, Housefather said his colleagues have shown him “a lot of love.”
CIJA, a Jewish advocacy group, said stripping the unilateral recognition of Palestine from the motion was the result of “substantial mobilization of the pro-Israel community,” but it still criticized the motion as passed.
“We are deeply disappointed that the Liberal government has chosen to effectively sub-contract Canadian foreign policy to anti-Israel radicals within the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois,” the group said in a statement following the vote.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM), a vocal critic of Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and an advocate of Canada taking a harder line against the Jewish state and its leadership, said it was pleased by what it described as “a historic vote.”
“Canada voted in favour of Palestine today,” the group said. “That is history.”
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says he’ll take time to reflect on the motion and whether he can continue to serve as a parliamentary secretary. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The NCCM said it was happy with what it described as the motion’s call for “a weapons embargo” and a passage that would impose “sanctions on settlers” — a reference to one passage of the motion that calls on the government to impose sanctions on “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have attacked Palestinians.
Salma Zahid, a Liberal MP who backed the motion from the start, said “a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions” is unfolding in Gaza and Canada must do something.
She said that given the massive civilian death toll in Gaza, Canada needs to “do more than just wag its finger” at the Israeli government over its actions.
Zahid was particularly critical of the Israeli government’s tacit acceptance of settlements in the West Bank.
Those settlements, which are seen as illegal under international law, have been described as an impediment to the creation of a future Palestinian state.
“It is time for Canada to stand up and be counted. Canadians are looking to us. They expect us to lead. They expect us to act. Either we stand for peace and justice, or we do not,” she said.
OTTAWA – The New Democrats confirmed Thursday they won’t help Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives topple the government next week, and intend to join the Bloc Québécois in blocking the Tories’ non-confidence motion.
The planned votes from the Bloc and the New Democrats eliminate the possibility of a snap election, buying the Liberals more time to govern after a raucous start to the fall sitting of Parliament.
Poilievre issued a challenge to NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh earlier this week when he announced he will put forward a motion that simply states that the House has no confidence in the government or the prime minister.
If it were to pass, it would likely mean Canadians would be heading to the polls, but Singh said Thursday he’s not going to let Poilievre tell him what to do.
Voting against the Conservative motion doesn’t mean the NDP support the Liberals, said Singh, who pulled out of his political pact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a few weeks ago.
“I stand by my words, Trudeau has let you down,” Singh said in the foyer outside of the House of Commons Thursday.
“Trudeau has let you down and does not deserve another chance.”
Canadians will have to make that choice at the ballot box, Singh said, but he will make a decision about whether to help trigger that election on a vote-by-vote basis in the House.
The Conservatives mocked the NDP during Question Period for saying they had “ripped up” the deal to support the Liberals, despite plans to vote to keep them in power.
Poilievre accused Singh of pretending to pull out of the deal to sway voters in a federal byelection in Winnipeg, where the NDP was defending its long-held seat against the Conservatives.
“Once the votes were counted, he betrayed them again. He’s a fake, a phoney and fraud. How can anyone ever believe what the sellout NDP leader says in the future?” Poilievre said during Question Period Thursday afternoon.
At some point after those comments, Singh stepped out from behind his desk in the House and a two-minute shouting match ensued between the two leaders and their MPs before the Speaker intervened.
Outside the House, Poilievre said he plans to put forward another non-confidence motion at the next opportunity.
“We want a carbon-tax election as soon as possible, so that we can axe Trudeau’s tax before he quadruples it to 61 cents a litre,” he said.
Liberal House leader Karina Gould says there is much work the government still needs to do, and that Singh has realized the consequences of potentially bringing down the government. She refused to take questions about whether her government will negotiate with opposition parties to ensure their support in future confidence motions.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet hasn’t ruled out voting no-confidence in the government the next time a motion is tabled.
“I never support Liberals. Help me God, I go against the Conservatives on a vote that is only about Pierre Poilievre and his huge ambition for himself,” Blanchet said Thursday.
“I support the interests of Quebecers, if those interests are also good for Canadians.”
A Bloc bill to increase pension cheques for seniors aged 65 to 74 is now at “the very centre of the survival of this government,” he said.
The Bloc needs a recommendation from a government minister to OK the cost and get the bill through the House.
The Bloc also wants to see more protections for supply management in the food sector in Canada and Quebec.
If the Liberals can’t deliver on those two things, they will fall, Blanchet said.
“This is what we call power,” he said.
Treasury Board President Anita Anand wouldn’t say whether the government would be willing to swallow the financial implications of the Bloc’s demands.
“We are focused at Treasury Board on ensuring prudent fiscal management,” she said Thursday.
“And at this time, our immediate focus is implementing the measures in budget 2024 that were announced earlier this year.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
OTTAWA – Treasury Board President Anita Anand has been sworn in as federal transport minister at a ceremony at Rideau Hall, taking over a portfolio left vacant after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet and the Liberal caucus on Thursday.
Anand thanked Rodriguez for his contributions to the government and the country, saying she’s grateful for his guidance and friendship.
She sidestepped a question about the message it sends to have him leave the federal Liberal fold.
“That is a decision that he made independently, and I wish him well,” she said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present for the swearing-in ceremony, nor were any other members of the Liberal government.
The shakeup in cabinet comes just days after the Liberals lost a key seat in a Montreal byelection to the Bloc Québécois and amid renewed calls for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step down and make way for a new leader.
Anand said she is not actively seeking leadership of the party, saying she is focused on her roles as minister and as MP.
“My view is that we are a team, and we are a team that has to keep delivering for our country,” she said.
The minority Liberal government is in a more challenging position in the House of Commons after the NDP ended a supply-and-confidence deal that provided parliamentary stability for more than two years.
Non-confidence votes are guaranteed to come from the Opposition Conservatives, who are eager to bring the government down.
On Thursday morning, Rodriguez made a symbolic walk over the Alexandra Bridge from Parliament Hill to Gatineau, Que., where he formally announced his plans to run for the Quebec Liberal party leadership.
He said he will now sit as an Independent member of Parliament, which will allow him to focus on his own priorities.
“I was defending the priorities of the government, and I did it in a very loyal way,” he said.
“It’s normal and it’s what I had to do. But now it’s more about my vision, the vision of the team that I’m building.”
Rodriguez said he will stay on as an MP until the Quebec Liberal leadership campaign officially launches in January.
He said that will “avoid a costly byelection a few weeks, or months, before a general election.”
The next federal election must be held by October 2025.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he will try to topple the government sooner than that, beginning with a non-confidence motion that is set to be debated Sept. 24 and voted on Sept. 25.
Poilievre has called on the NDP and the Bloc Québécois to support him, but both Jagmeet Singh and Yves-François Blanchet have said they will not support the Conservatives.
Rodriguez said he doesn’t want a federal election right away and will vote against the non-confidence motion.
As for how he would vote on other matters before the House of Commons, “it would depend on the votes.”
Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, a non-cabinet role Rodriguez held since 2019.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
— With files from Nojoud Al Mallees and Dylan Robertson
