Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says he is ‘reflecting’ on his future in the Liberal party after a heavily amended NDP motion on Palestinian statehood passed in the House of Commons on Monday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The Liberal government’s decision to support a softened NDP motion on the Israel-Hamas war is drawing sharp criticism from its Israeli ally and from within the governing caucus, with one MP saying he’s considering leaving the party over the vote.
On Parliament Hill Tuesday, Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather told reporters he is reflecting on his next steps and, with his voice cracking, said the result of the vote left him feeling isolated by his own party.
“I truly felt last night that a line had been crossed,” Mr. Housefather said, adding it was the first time he has been in such a position.
“When my party members got up and cheered and gave a standing ovation to Heather McPherson and the NDP, I started reflecting as to whether or not I belonged.”
During the vote, Ms. McPherson and several NDP MPs were wearing the black and white keffiyeh scarf – a symbol of the pro-Palestinian protest movement.
Mr. Housefather said he would make a decision in the next few days, adding “for the moment, I’m still there.”
Late on Monday, the NDP opposition motion on the Israel-Hamas war passed the House thanks to the governing Liberals’ support from most of caucus and cabinet. Mr. Housefather and backbench MPs Ben Carr and Marco Mendicino voted against it.
The vote in favour of the motion came after intense negotiations that went down to the wire and included an emergency cabinet meeting. Ultimately, the Liberals convinced the NDP to remove the most controversial element of the motion, which called for the recognition of a Palestinian state, and to temper much of the other language.
Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed speaks in Ottawa, on Jan. 26.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Mr. Housefather, who is also a parliamentary secretary in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, said that while the motion’s amendments improved its content, it was still flawed and he would have preferred to see Liberals vote against the original motion, rather than agree to changes.
He also said that changes to the motion, which were announced 20 minutes before the vote was scheduled, didn’t give parliamentarians time to properly consider and understand them.
His colleague, Mr. Carr, told The Globe and Mail that he had consulted with his Winnipeg constituents – which include the largest Jewish community in Western Canada – before deciding to vote against the original motion and said in order to change his vote he would have needed time to consult on the changes. Still he said he views the Liberal caucus as a microcosm of society and he is “very comfortable being in the Liberal caucus.”
The motion from the NDP originally called on the government to recognize the Palestinian state and included no language condemning Hamas or calling for its surrender. The final version removed the statehood call and said Hamas should surrender, but still fell short, according to Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed.
In an interview, Mr. Moed said the motion failed to grasp the threat Israel faces and the reason why the war is still continuing – the more than 100 hostages still held captive by Hamas.
In particular, Mr. Moed said the clause that called on Canada to “cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel” would weaken its right to self-defence and is counterproductive.
“The motion’s language is there to weaken Israel’s ability to defend itself,” Mr. Moed said.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz weighed in on social media. “History will judge Canada’s current action harshly. Israel will continue to fight until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned home,” he said.
Such a motion is usually non-binding, but in this case Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters that her government intended to “follow what is written in this motion.”
Canada has already said that it stopped issuing military export permits to Israel – but the Department of Global Affairs said it is still reviewing applications for permits to export military goods to Israel “on a case-by-case basis,” despite the fact it has not issued new ones since Jan. 8.
This means Canada has not closed the door to future exports of military goods to the Israeli government.
Canada does not typically export full systems to Israel but does export military end-use components on an annual basis. Waterloo, Ont.-based Project Ploughshares, an arms-control advocate, says by its count Canadian companies exported more than $21-million in defence equipment to Israeli customers in 2022, the latest year with complete data.
“The department continues to review export permits requests on a case-by-case basis. The rapidly evolving situation affects GAC’s review process under our rigorous export regime,” Global Affairs spokesman Jean-Pierre Godbout said in an e-mailed statement.
Canada “supports Israel’s right to defend itself, in accordance with international law,” Mr. Godbout said. “In defending itself, Israel must comply with applicable international humanitarian law.”
Canada doesn’t typically release many details on defence exports to Israel or other countries.
Since 2015, however, the largest annual categories of shipments to Israel fall into three categories: bombs, torpedoes, missiles and other explosive devices; aircraft, drones, aero engines, aircraft equipment for military use and electronic equipment; and spacecraft and components.
Two sources said one of the export applications in the Global Affairs pipeline is a request to ship armoured vehicles to Israel. The Globe is not naming the sources because they were not authorized to comment on the matter.
Lior Haiat, the head of the Israel Foreign Ministry’s North America division, said his government is in talks to try to get Canada to reverse restrictions on arms exports.
He predicted the NDP-sponsored resolution will be celebrated by Hamas and said curbing arms exports to Israel inhibits its ability to defend itself. “What Israel is doing is exactly that: We’re fighting against a terror organization that’s main goal is to destroy the State of Israel and kill all the Jews in this world.”
Kelsey Gallagher, a researcher at Project Ploughshares, said he believes Ottawa’s obligations under arms-control law require it to stop exports to Israel because of the country’s conduct in the war.
“Canadian officials cannot authorize the transfer of military goods if such exports pose a substantial risk of facilitating serious human-rights violations,” Mr. Gallagher said. “In considering Israel’s conduct throughout its operation in Gaza, this threshold has evidently been met.”
WINNIPEG – The federal New Democrats have kept a longtime stronghold in the Elmwood-Transcona riding in Winnipeg.
The NDP’s Leila Dance won a close battle over Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds, and says the community has spoken in favour of priorities such as health care and the cost of living.
Elmwood-Transcona has elected a New Democrat in every election except one since the riding was formed in 1988.
The seat became open after three-term member of Parliament Daniel Blaikie resigned in March to take a job with the Manitoba government.
A political analyst the NDP is likely relieved to have kept the seat in what has been one of their strongest urban areas.
Christopher Adams, an adjunct professor of political studies at the University of Manitoba, says NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh worked hard to keep the seat in a tight race.
“He made a number of visits to Winnipeg, so if they had lost this riding it would have been disastrous for the NDP,” Adams said.
The strong Conservative showing should put wind in that party’s sails, Adams added, as their percentage of the popular vote in Elmwood-Transcona jumped sharply from the 2021 election.
“Even though the Conservatives lost this (byelection), they should walk away from it feeling pretty good.”
Dance told reporters Monday night she wants to focus on issues such as the cost of living while working in Ottawa.
“We used to be able to buy a cart of groceries for a hundred dollars and now it’s two small bags. That is something that will affect everyone in this riding,” Dance said.
Liberal candidate Ian MacIntyre placed a distant third,
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau say the Liberals have “all sorts of reflections” to make after losing a second stronghold in a byelection in Montreal Monday night.
His comments come as the Liberal cabinet gathers for its first regularly scheduled meeting of the fall sitting of Parliament, which began Monday.
Trudeau’s Liberals were hopeful they could retain the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun, but those hopes were dashed after the Bloc Québécois won it in an extremely tight three-way race with the NDP.
Louis-Philippe Sauvé, an administrator at the Institute for Research in Contemporary Economics, beat Liberal candidate Laura Palestini by less than 250 votes. The NDP finished about 600 votes back of the winner.
It is the second time in three months that Trudeau’s party lost a stronghold in a byelection. In June, the Conservatives defeated the Liberals narrowly in Toronto-St. Paul’s.
The Liberals won every seat in Toronto and almost every seat on the Island of Montreal in the last election, and losing a seat in both places has laid bare just how low the party has fallen in the polls.
“Obviously, it would have been nicer to be able to win and hold (the Montreal riding), but there’s more work to do and we’re going to stay focused on doing it,” Trudeau told reporters ahead of this morning’s cabinet meeting.
When asked what went wrong for his party, Trudeau responded “I think there’s all sorts of reflections to take on that.”
In French, he would not say if this result puts his leadership in question, instead saying his team has lots of work to do.
Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet will hold a press conference this morning, but has already said the results are significant for his party.
“The victory is historic and all of Quebec will speak with a stronger voice in Ottawa,” Blanchet wrote on X, shortly after the winner was declared.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and his party had hoped to ride to a win in Montreal on the popularity of their candidate, city councillor Craig Sauvé, and use it to further their goal of replacing the Liberals as the chief alternative to the Conservatives.
The NDP did hold on to a seat in Winnipeg in a tight race with the Conservatives, but the results in Elmwood-Transcona Monday were far tighter than in the last several elections. NDP candidate Leila Dance defeated Conservative Colin Reynolds by about 1,200 votes.
Singh called it a “big victory.”
“Our movement is growing — and we’re going to keep working for Canadians and building that movement to stop Conservative cuts before they start,” he said on social media.
“Big corporations have had their governments. It’s the people’s time.”
New Democrats recently pulled out of their political pact with the government in a bid to distance themselves from the Liberals, making the prospects of a snap election far more likely.
Trudeau attempted to calm his caucus at their fall retreat in Nanaimo, B.C, last week, and brought former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney on as an economic adviser in a bid to shore up some credibility with voters.
The latest byelection loss will put more pressure on him as leader, with many polls suggesting voter anger is more directed at Trudeau himself than at Liberal policies.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024.
The New Democrats have declared a federal byelection victory in their Winnipeg stronghold riding of Elmwood—Transcona.
The NDP candidate Leila Dance told supporters in a tearful speech that even though the final results weren’t in, she expected she would see them in Ottawa.
With several polls still to be counted, Conservative candidate Colin Reynolds conceded defeat and told his volunteers that they should be proud of what the Conservatives accomplished in the campaign.
Political watchers had a keen eye on the results to see if the Tories could sway traditionally NDP voters on issues related to labour and affordability.
Meanwhile in the byelection race in the Montreal riding of LaSalle—Émard—Verdun the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Québécois remained locked in an extremely tight three-way race as the results trickled in slowly.
The Liberal stronghold riding had a record 91 names on the ballot, and the results aren’t expected until the early hours of the morning.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
