Last weekend, Canada voted against the grain on a number of United Nations General Assembly resolutions regarding Israel, Gaza and the West Bank.
In its opposition on Nov. 9 to five out of nine resolutions passed that day by two General Assembly committees, the Canadian delegation was in the minority of UN members, along with the United States and Israel, and sometimes countries including Australia, the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru.
According to former Canadian diplomat Jon Allen, the factors behind these decisions include trends set in motion by previous prime ministers, the influence of powerful lobbyists, Canada’s tendency to follow the United States’ lead, and a sense of imbalance among the UN General Assembly’s resolutions.
Allan is a professor of global affairs and public policy at the University of Toronto, former Canadian ambassador to Israel, Spain and Andorra, and chair of Project Rozana Canada, a not-for-profit with the objective is to build bridges between Palestinians and Israelis via the health sector.
“Under various governments up until the end of (Jean) Chretien, there was more balance in the resolutions,” Allen told CTVNews.ca in an interview on Wednesday. “We supported some. We didn’t support the others.”
In the years since then, however, the needle has moved.
THE VOTES
Canada voted against a resolution to have the UN General Assembly request the Secretary-General “take all appropriate steps” to protect Arab properties, assets and property rights in Israel.
It voted against a resolution to “condemn settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, and condemn any activities involving the confiscation of land, the disruption of the livelihood of protected people, the forced transfer of civilians and the annexation of land, “whether de facto or through national legislation.”
Canada was among four countries to vote against a resolution that would have the UN General Assembly express concern about the critical financial situation of UNRWA and “attempts to discredit the Agency despite its proven operational capacity and consistent implementation of its mandate.” The resolution would also call on Israel to ensure the safety of the UNRWA personnel and the protection of its institutions.
The Canadian delegation also voted against a resolution that would “recognize the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a result of any exploitation, damage, loss or depletion or endangerment of their natural resources resulting from illegal measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power.”
Finally, Canada voted against a resolution that would reiterate the committee’s concern about an oil slick on the Lebanese shores created when the Israeli Air Force destroyed oil storage tanks in the direct vicinity of the Lebanese Jiyah electric power plant in 2014, causing Lebanon US$856.4 million in damage.
In the days since the two committee sessions, Canada’s position on resolutions concerning Israel has fallen under increased scrutiny and has drawn criticism by human rights organization Amnesty International.
In a statement to CTVNews.ca on Friday, Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary general of Amnesty International Canada, said she believes Canada’s voting record “reveals a concerning misalignment with global consensus” on the rights of people in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“At this pivotal moment, Canada must prioritize international law over bilateral interests to ensure that everyone’s human rights are upheld and respected impartially.”
CANADA’S EXPLANATION
According to a UN report on the Fourth Committee meeting, the Canadian delegation explained its position on the resolutions by reaffirming Israel’s right to defend itself and arguing that there are too many resolutions related to the Arab-Israeli conflict which single out Israel, adding that Canada will continue to vote “no” on texts that “do not address the complexity of issues.”
CTVNews.ca requested an interview with Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN, to discuss the resolutions, but Rae’s office declined. Instead, Global Affairs Canada (GAC) provided a statement further elaborating on Canada’s position.
“When it comes to votes at the UN, Canada reiterates the importance of a fair-minded approach,” the statement reads. “We will continue to vote no on resolutions that do not address the complexities of the issues or address the actions of all parties. We also remain opposed to the disproportionate singling out of Israel for criticism.”
The statement says Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied in 1967 – including the Golan Heights, the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
FORMER AMBASSADOR WEIGHS IN
Allen agrees with the federal government’s position that the number of resolutions on Israel effectively singles it out over other countries whose leadership has carried out acts of violence and oppression — such as Russia, North Korea, China and Myanmar — but which aren’t the subject of as many UN resolutions.
“At one point there were 22 resolutions (on Israel). Now, I think there’s about 14,” he said.
“Should there be some resolutions? Yeah. Just have two resolutions that basically say settlements are illegal and should be stopped and the occupation should be ended as soon as possible.”
However, he said there are other factors influencing Canada’s stance on the resolutions, including a trend set in motion 20 years ago and aggressive lobbying by certain interest groups.
There was a time when Canada supported a greater number of UN resolutions regarding Israel and the occupation of the Palestinian territories, Allen said, but successive prime ministers since former prime minister Jean Chretien have taken a more explicitly pro-Israeli position.
Up until the early 2000s, Allen said, Canada tended to shy away from supporting resolutions that “blamed Israel for not making peace,” but still supported a greater number of resolutions regarding Israel and the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank than it does today.
Around the time Paul Martin took office as prime minister in 2003, Allen said, the dial began to move, little by little.
“I don’t know whether he did it to please the Jewish community, but to my surprise, (because) I was in the department at the time, (Martin) changed maybe two or three resolutions,” he said.
“When (Stephen) Harper came in, he changed even more.”
Based on his various positions in Canadian diplomacy from 2001 to 2016, Allen said he believes these reversals were made partly due to what he described as lobbying by interest groups in Canada in support of minimizing criticism of Israel.
“There is a strong lobby that does not want to see resolutions condemning Israel be supported by Canada,” he said.
And despite the federal government’s insistence that it voted against four out of six of the latest draft resolutions on Israel out of a duty to fairness, Allen said he believes that if the U.S. were to change its position on the resolutions, Canada likely would, too.
“America is pushing a two-state solution now, that’s what their answer is to this war,” he said. “And if (President Joe) Biden had the guts, he would start criticizing the settlements, he would start criticizing the occupation. And I have no doubt that Canada would follow.”
HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE RESOLUTIONS?
The resolutions come as the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry estimates more than 11,400 Palestinians have been killed in the weeks since the war broke out.
The war erupted after Hamas, a militant group deemed a terrorist organization by the Canadian government, killed some 1,200 people and seized around 240 captives in a surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7. Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza.
The United Nations said Friday it was forced to stop deliveries of food and other necessities to Gaza because of a lack of fuel, The Associated Press reported, adding that Israel has also blocked the majority of food, water and other supplies. The AP cited aid workers as saying the trickle of aid that does make it in through Egypt is far short of what’s needed.
As a result, Palestinians trapped in Gaza are struggling to survive without electricity or running water and are rationing food, according to reporting from the Associated Press.
At the end of the day, Allen said, resolutions drafted by the General Assembly are little more than paper tigers that are neither executed nor enforced by the UN Security Council because they are non-binding.
“Everybody’s anguishing over resolutions that frankly, don’t mean very much,” he said.
“We’re talking about non-binding resolutions of the General Assembly that really, truly have no effect whatsoever. If this is not the Security Council, you’re not going to get sanctions as a result of this.”
Amnesty International’s Nivyabandi disagrees, saying it would be “misguided and regrettable” to dismiss the resolutions’ importance.
“These resolutions, including those concerning Palestinian refugees and condemning the ongoing development of illegal Israeli settlements, reflect the collective stance of the international community on vital issues,” she wrote. “They hold significant moral and political value.”
Still, Allen said if Canada is serious about wanting peace in the region, going forward, he believes it needs to advocate loudly for solving some of the specific problems standing in the way of a two-state solution, namely, root causes of the conflict including ongoing occupation and settlement efforts in Palestinian territories.
“If you go to the Canadian government website, it says settlements are illegal. It opposes the occupation. It favours a two-state solution. If that’s your policy, then why are you afraid to speak up about it when they’re expanding settlements?”
Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories of the West Bank — including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip since the Six-Day War of 1967. Israel has also occupied the Syrian Golan Heights since 1967.
With files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
TORONTO – A group of professional engineers plan to soon withdraw services from key Ontario infrastructure projects Highway 413 and the Bradford Bypass as part of a bargaining dispute with the province.
Members of the Professional Engineers Government of Ontario, which represents more than 600 professional engineers and land surveyors who work for the province, started a work-to-rule campaign earlier this month.
Members’ earnings have fallen so far behind that they sometimes earn half of what people in similar positions at municipalities make, their bargaining association said. They are behind the market by 30 to 50 per cent, said president Nihar Bhatt.
So far no meaningful progress has been made in bargaining with the Treasury Board Secretariat even though the engineers have been without a contract for 20 months, Bhatt said. He did not give a specific percentage increase he is looking for but said it is “significant.”
“This bargaining is just the culmination of a decade long of talks on this issue, and suddenly, when they realize how far behind the market they are, they’re like, ‘Oh, these numbers are, like, really big,'” Bhatt said.
“Yeah, they are because you ignored it for a decade, and this is where we are. So that’s the problem and the infrastructure agenda of the province, whether it be new stuff or existing, both need to be overseen by people who know what they’re doing.”
The engineers have been engaging in a work-to-rule campaign, which includes not doing unpaid overtime or working outside of their set hours, but will now be escalating their job action.
Starting in the next few days, a small group of engineers will stop working on the two highway projects that are loudly championed by Premier Doug Ford.
“So right now, the impacts are gonna be felt in the planning and design stages of the projects, which is where both 413 and Bradford Bypass are at,” Bhatt said.
“There are some major milestones coming up in the next few weeks which should impact projects in the long run.”
A spokesperson for Treasury Board President Caroline Mulroney said the government has held numerous bargaining sessions with PEGO since July 2023.
“The government has been negotiating in good faith and will continue to do so,” Liz Tuomi said in a statement, adding that all ministries have continuity plans in case of labour action.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Groups in Russia created and helped spread viral disinformation targeting Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, a senior U.S. intelligence official said Tuesday.
The content, which includes baseless accusations about the Minnesota governor’s time as a teacher, contains several indications that it was manipulated, said the official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
Analysts identified clues that linked the content to Russian disinformation operations, said the official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the office of the director.
Digital researchers had already linked the video to Russia, but Tuesday’s announcement is the first time federal authorities have confirmed the connection.
The disinformation targeting Walz is consistent with Russian disinformation seeking to undermine the Democratic campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz, her running mate. Russia also has spread disinformation aimed at stoking discord and division ahead of voting, officials said, and may seek to encourage violent protests after Election Day.
Last month, analysts at Microsoft revealed that a viral video that baselessly claimed Harris left a woman paralyzed in a hit-and-run accident 13 years ago was Russian disinformation. More recently, a video surfaced featuring a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s who accused the candidate of sexual misconduct years ago. Private researchers at firms that track disinformation, including NewsGuard, already have concluded the video was fake and that the man in the footage isn’t who he claimed to be.
The Associated Press contacted a former employer of the man whose identity was used in the video. The employer, Viktor Yeliohin, confirmed the man shown in the video was an impostor.
Some researchers have also suggested the video may contain evidence that it was created using artificial intelligence, but federal officials stopped short of the same conclusion, saying only that the video contained multiple indications of manipulation.
There is no indication that Russia, China or Iran are plotting significant attacks on election infrastructure as a way to disrupt the outcome, officials said Tuesday.
Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they are seeking to meddle with the U.S. election. Messages left with the Russian Embassy seeking comment on the Walz video were not immediately returned Tuesday.
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Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin contributed to this report from New York.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The tiny Mideast nation of Kuwait has banned the release of the video game “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6,” which features the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and is set in part in the 1990s Gulf War.
The video game, a first-person shooter, follows CIA operators fighting at times in the United States and also in the Middle East. Game-play trailers for the game show burning oilfields, a painful reminder for Kuwaitis who saw Iraqis set fire to the fields, causing vast ecological and economic damage. Iraqi troops damaged or set fire to over 700 wells.
There also are images of Saddam and Iraq’s old three-star flag in the footage released by developers ahead of the game’s launch. The game’s multiplayer section, a popular feature of the series, includes what appears to be a desert shootout in Kuwait called Scud after the Soviet missiles Saddam fired in the war. Another is called Babylon, after the ancient city in Iraq.
Activision acknowledged in a statement that the game “has not been approved for release in Kuwait,” but did not elaborate.
“All pre-orders in Kuwait will be cancelled and refunded to the original point of purchase,” the company said. “We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider, and allow players in Kuwait to enjoy this all-new experience in the Black Ops series.”
Kuwait’s Media Ministry did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press over the decision.
“Call of Duty,” which first began in 2003 as a first-person shooter set in World War II, has expanded into an empire worth billions of dollars now owned by Microsoft. But it also has been controversial as its gameplay entered the realm of geopolitics. China and Russia both banned chapters in the franchise. In 2009, an entry in the gaming franchise allowed players to take part in a militant attack at a Russian airport, killing civilians.
But there have been other games recently that won praise for their handling of the Mideast. Ubisoft’s “Assassin’s Creed: Mirage” published last year won praise for its portrayal of Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age in the 9th century.
