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CBC
9 minutes ago
- CBC
France plans to recognize Palestinian statehood. Will Canada do the same?
When French President Emmanuel Macron shared his plans to formally recognize Palestinian statehood at the upcoming United Nations General Assembly in September, he said there was " no alternative." "We must build the state of Palestine, ensure its viability and ensure that by accepting its demilitarization and fully recognizing Israel, it contributes to the security of all in the Middle East," he wrote in French on Thursday, noting that it is up to the French, along with the Israelis, Palestinians and European and international partners, to prove that peace in the region is possible. Macron's intention to recognize a Palestinian state would be largely symbolic. However, it is notable in that France is the first major Western country to change its position on the issue since Ireland, Norway and Spain did last year. But a turnaround on Palestinian sovereignty from Canada might not be forthcoming. In a social media post on Friday, Israel Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa'ar wrote that he spoke with Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and warned against "strong diplomatic attacks by certain countries against Israel" during ceasefire negotiations. He said actions such as France's would encourage Hamas to harden its stance in the Israel-Hamas war. "Unilateral steps by France and other countries will only push Israel to take steps of its own," Sa'ar wrote. "The French initiative harms the chances of achieving a hostage deal and ceasefire. It won't promote stability in the region." That hasn't stopped elected officials in the U.K. from capitalizing on the moment. Friday, 221 British MPs — about one-third of the U.K. House of Commons — sent a joint letter calling for the country's prime minister and foreign secretary to recognize a Palestinian state. Carney criticizes Israel Hours after Macron's social media post, Prime Minister Mark Carney made a statement condemning Israel for its "denial of humanitarian aid" to civilians in Gaza. Rather than address Macron's intentions explicitly, Carney noted that Anand would take part in a high-level UN conference in New York next week, co-hosted by France, on the implementation of a two-state solution. WATCH | Macron to recognize Palestinian state in September: France will recognize a Palestinian state, Macron says 8 hours ago Carney also described the mass starvation in Gaza ensuing from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Israel's "failure to prevent the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian disaster" across the region. More than 100 advocacy groups have been warning of hunger spreading in Gaza as ceasefire negotiations stall. Israel, which controls all supplies entering Gaza, denies it is responsible for food shortages and accused the groups of "echoing Hamas propaganda." Last week, the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected Israel's request to withdraw arrest warrants it had issued in November 2024 for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza. Canadian governments previously said they would acknowledge a Palestinian state only after a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and Palestinian leadership. Still, there have been some steps toward Canada possibly acknowledging Palestinian sovereignty. Canadian MPs last year signed an open letter in support of recognizing a Palestinian state. In November 2024, a Canadian parliamentary foreign affairs committee began to study a motion, which called for the federal government to find the quickest way toward recognizing Palestinian statehood. And in May 2024, former prime minister Justin Trudeau suggested that Canada might acknowledge Palestinian sovereignty before the end of peace negotiations, with the aim of pushing forward a two-state solution.
Global News
38 minutes ago
- Global News
Ousted MLAs partner with Alberta Party after UCP threatens legal action over PC name
A group of MLAs who broke away from the United Conservative Party and plan to launch their own moderate political party are pivoting to align with the existing Alberta Party. Peter Guthrie, a former cabinet minister in Smith's government, along with former UCP backbencher Scott Sinclair, made headlines on July 2 by announcing their plans to resurrect the Progressive Conservative Party name for a new party that would challenge the UCP. The PCs held power for more than four decades in Alberta before losing to the NDP in 2015 and then eventually merging with the rival Wildrose Party to form the current United Conservatives. Guthrie said their small team grew quickly and gained momentum, but then on July 14, the UCP brought in its lawyers to challenge the rogue splinter group's attempt to use the PC name — so now, they're changing tactics. Story continues below advertisement 'So at that time we had to shift gears and the Alberta Party had some interest in joining up. They thought there would be some synergies there so we started having some communications,' Guthrie said Friday morning on The Shaye Ganam Show on Corus Radio. 'Ultimately, partnering with them — it made a lot of sense to us. It was by far the most practical path.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Ultimately, partnering with them — it made a lot of sense to us. It was by far the most practical path." 2:10 MLA Peter Guthrie booted from UCP: 'Criticizing government comes at a cost' Guthrie and Sinclair, both voted out of caucus earlier this year for challenging UCP policies, said UCP leader and Premier Danielle Smith has lost her way and is catering to a narrow band of extremists and separatists, and that centrist conservatives need a place to park their vote. 'This is a brand new movement that we're starting. We're going back to the roots of (Peter) Lougheed,' he said, making reference to the late premier and party leader who established the Progressive Conservative dynasty. Story continues below advertisement Lougheed left behind a legacy of progressive social reform and economic prosperity in Alberta. 'We're gonna take that premise and we are growing. We're starting again. We're staring anew. So this is not about looking to the past. It's about looking into the future,' Guthrie said. The group feels there's a missing middle in Alberta politics for moderate voters who do not align with either the far left or right of the political spectrum. 'With the NDP and with the UCP, they're just focused on a very small segment of the population — their base.' 'They're ignoring this large swath of voters in the middle who just feel like they don't have a political home. And I think that's where we fit.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They're ignoring this large swath of voters in the middle who just feel like they don't have a political home. And I think that's where we fit." Guthrie thinks there are plenty of Albertans who want a more socially liberal but fiscally conservative option. 'I'm a centre-right conservative, fiscally conservative, moderate individual who just considers himself an average Albertans and we're looking for something better,' he said. 1:46 Estranged UCP MLAs hope to create new political party The would-be PCs have told supporters that the Alberta Party will take on new board members and begin taking steps to change the name to reflect a progressive conservative alternative in the province. Story continues below advertisement He added the Alberta Party is looking for a new direction, and the partnership makes sense. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We may be a couple of degrees off in our policy and platform ideas, but, you know, they had the infrastructure and we have the momentum,' he said. The partnership came down to three things, he said: one, joining an established party is quicker than starting from scratch. Two, he said it sidesteps the UCP's attempts to stall their efforts through litigation. Three, Guthrie has heard rumours of a possible snap election. 'This ensures that we're ready to compete sooner rather than later,' he said. 5:38 Alberta Election 2019: Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel 'very proud' of party's efforts The Alberta Party has existed in the province for nearly three decades but has struggled to gain a foothold, despite its centrist appeal. Story continues below advertisement It has had a MLA elected over the years and others have crossed the floor to join, but currently does not have any representation at the Alberta legislature. 'Despite Greg Clark winning a seat in 2015 and despite increasing their vote total in 2019 to almost 10 per cent, they didn't win another seat and in the last election they got less than one per cent,' said Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt. 'The Alberta Party is a symbol of how difficult it is to create a party in the middle, and now Guthrie and Sinclair are going to try to replicate that and hoping for a different result.' Bratt said the Alberta Party originally formed as an alternate choice to the PCs, but in more recent years has been a landing space for moderate conservatives. 'There was a belief that the Alberta Party was basically becoming… maybe not the old PCs, but the people of the PC party that rejected the UCP — and by the efforts of Guthrie and Sinclair, they're providing further evidence to that,' Bratt said. 1:51 Ousted UCP MLA Peter Guthrie releases letter critical of former party Neither Global News or The Canadian Press has seen the UCP cease and desist letter, but Guthrie said the asks in it were far-reaching: 'They made demands that were like… no reasonable person would agree to.' Story continues below advertisement Bratt said the UCP is limited in what they can legally demand. 'You can't block the word 'conservative,' you can't block the word 'progressive,' just as they couldn't block the word 'Wildrose.' What they could block is some of the logos and the colour schemes and the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, which was the legal name — but what if they changed it to the progressive conservative party of Alberta?' Guthrie said the letter shows the UCP is worried, and trying to intimidate those who want to move the province's political sphere back to 'normality.' 'For us, it signals fear. I think they're worried. They're worried that they've lost credibility with the public and that a viable third option, like the PC's, might actually resonate with voters. 'They're going to do what they can to slow us down, but we're not stopping.' Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They're going to do what they can to slow us down, but we're not stopping." UCP executive director Dustin van Vugt, in a statement, said the cease and desist letter was sent to protect the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta copyright and trademarks that belong to the UCP. 'The PC Alberta name, logo and goodwill were being used by people with no right to it,' he wrote. Van Vugt said neither of the ex-UCP caucus members were part of PC Alberta. Story continues below advertisement 'Their attempt to usurp the goodwill associated with our legacy party in order to confuse voters and avoid the hard work of building a political movement is particularly insulting to the thousands of former PC Party members and supporters who are now contributing members of the UCP,' he wrote in identical statements to both Global News and The Canadian Press this week. Guthrie said the UCP make threats but the new group is going to follow the laws laid out by Elections Alberta. 'Elections Alberta, they're the lead authority on elections law. So we're going to follow their direction. Ultimately it's not the UCP's opinion that's gonna determine the outcome, it's the law,' Guthrie said. Elections Alberta said a party can ask to change its registered name, but there are caveats. In a statement to Global News, it said the chief electoral officer will not approve the request if the proposed name or abbreviation resembles so closely as to likely to be confused with: The name or abbreviation of another registered party or local political party; The name or abbreviation of a party that has been de-registered since the last general election (the 2023 provincial general election, in this case); A reserved party name or abbreviation. Elections Alberta also said the chief electoral officer will also not approve the request if the proposed name was the name of a local political party de-registered or whose name changed since the last municipal general election or the proposed name or abbreviation is unacceptable to the officer for any other reason. Story continues below advertisement 2:22 Exiled UCP MLAs hope to revive a political dynasty The collaboration with the Alberta Party doesn't just mean a new name. 'There will be a leadership contest; the Alberta Party has a constitution that we'll abide. We haven't set the timing on that. But I would imagine getting something like that started this fall would make sense,' Guthrie said. Lindsay Amantea took on the role of Alberta Party leader on an interim basis last year and said the coming weeks and months will be an exciting time. She invited Albertans who feel the same to join their movement. 'The Alberta Party is first and foremost a party made up of pragmatic people who want to build a better Alberta, and we will do just that in whatever way we can,' she said in a statement to Global News. 'At this critical juncture in Alberta's history, we are exploring opportunities and partnerships that would raise the level of political discourse, and refocus the conversation on improving the lives of all Albertans, not just insiders. ' Story continues below advertisement 1:35 The West Wants In: Discontent in Alberta over Liberal election win — With files from The Canadian Press
CTV News
38 minutes ago
- CTV News
‘A brand new day for tenants:' Toronto's rental bylaw takes effect next week. Here is what you need to know
Posters from Toronto's ad campaign notifying citizens of the new rental bylaw. (Credit: City of Toronto) A new Toronto bylaw to protect tenants from what Mayor Olivia Chow is calling 'bogus' renovictions officially goes into effect next week. The bylaw, which was overwhelmingly approved by Toronto City Council in November, would work to combat what Chow says are 'bad faith' evictions by putting the onus on landlords to prove why a unit needs to be emptied while renovations take place. 'Every time I'm out in the streets I hear of tenants being evicted for bogus excuses,' Chow said during a press conference at Toronto City Hall on Friday highlighting the new bylaw. 'Well actually, the real reason for the eviction in some cases is that the landlord can then find new tenants and raise the rent significantly.' The new bylaw comes into effect on July 31. Here is what you need to know about renovictions and how the city is hoping to combat them: What is a 'renoviction?' There are two types of evictions in Ontario - behavior and no fault. Behaviour evictions are for things like failing to pay rent or following the terms of a lease. But a landlord can evict a tenant for two other main reasons - if they want to move themselves or a member of their immediate family into the property, or if they want to renovate the property. Renovating the property often gives the landlord the opportunity to significantly hike what they charge tenants beyond what is allowed under Ontario's rent control legislation, many tenant advocates argue. That legislation otherwise applies to most rental units in Ontario with the exception of newer units that were occupied for the first time after 2018. In 2025, the maximum that landlords were allowed to increase rent without seeking an exemption from the province for an above guideline increase was 2.5 per cent. Chow said that 'too often landlords try to take advantage of tenants who may not fully understand their legal rights.' She said that in some cases landlords are held accountable for unnecessary evictions and can face significant fines but in many other cases get away with it. 'For many tenants, this renoviction bylaw will prevent them from being wrongfully, illegally evicted from their homes,' Chow said. 'A brand new day for tenants,' city officials say Under the new bylaw, landlords 'will have to prove' that the unit needs to be empty for any potential renovations. They would do so by applying for a rental renovation licence at city hall, with that application having to be submitted within seven days of giving formal notice to tenants. As part of that process, they will be expected submit a report 'from a qualified person identifying that the renovation or maintenance work is so extensive that the tenant must leave the unit,' as well as a plan to either compensate the tenant or provide them with alternate accommodations during the renovations. They would also have to provide moving allowances to impacted tenants and agree to provide them with some form of 'severance compensation' in cases where they choose not to return to the unit after the work is complete. The city will also charge landlords a $700 application fee to cover its administrative costs. 'What's fair is if a landlord really does need to take out all the walls and change all the HVAC than that's fair that you would have to leave your apartment,' Coun. Paula Fletcher explained. 'For such a long time it's been very unfair and stacked against tenants.' But Fletcher said if a landlord just wants 'to get a tenant out in order to raise the rent and you don't need to do those things then that's unfair.' Under the previous system, all landlords had to do in order to evict a tenant for renovations was issue them what is called a N13 notice, provide them adequate notice and provide them with a right of first refusal to move back in once the renovations are complete. If the tenant wanted to fight the eviction, they would have to take their case to Ontario's Landlord Tenant Board. 'There you are wondering what you're going to do next, trying to fight the landlord tenant board by yourself, well the rescue is here,' Fletcher said to tenants. To landlords Fletcher said, 'the renovictions bylaw means that fairness will be the very baseline of everything that happens. You will have to prove that you really need that apartment empty.' What does a renoviction look like? Around Toronto there is 'story after story of people being illegally, unlawfully evicted to no fault of their own,' said Michael Cuadra the Co-Chair of the Western Chapter of Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN). Yaroslava Montenegro, the Executive Director of the Federation of Metro Tenants, discussed her family's near-renoviction story as part of the bylaw announcement today. 'During the pandemic my parent's landlord demanded to remodel the upstairs plumbing through our washroom ceiling. My father at the time was in the ICU trying to survive COVID, my mother barely survived at home,' she said. When the landlord came back later with an eviction notice, Montenegro and her mother had no choice but to let the renovation happen. 'By the time that we let them in to avoid the eviction, my father had passed. We pleaded with the landlord to postpone the construction as he had passed just a day or two earlier but they went ahead anyway.' 'July 31 marks four years and a day since my father passed. It also marks when the renoviction bylaw comes into effect. I think there's some poetic justice in that.' Montenegro praised her building's tenancy organization who she said, 'fought tooth and nail to keep people housed in our building because we were not the only ones dealing with this issue.' Not everyone every renter has that same support network, as CP24 covered back in July 2024. Some of the high, or rather low lights, including two renovictions back-to-back, trying to navigate Toronto's notorious housing market, and a 72-year-old senior citizen having to come out of retirement to pay their rent. Are you currently facing a renoviction and are hopeful this new bylaw could help you? CTV News Toronto wants to hear from you. Email us at torontonews@ with your name, general location and phone number in case we want to follow up. Your comments may be used in a CTV News story.
