Canadian parliament holds debate on motion to recognize Palestinian state

A motion for Canada to recognize a Palestinian state saw fierce debate in parliament on Monday over Ottawa's position on the Israel-Hamas War.

During the debate, the Green Party and Bloc Québécois said that they would support the New Democratic Party's opposition motion, and the Conservative Party said that it would not support the non-binding resolution. The ruling Liberal Party, which was largely represented in the House debate by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, was evasive about whether it would support the motion, but indicated that it believed that the pursuit of a Palestinian state had to be coupled with negotiations in the Middle East.

The NDP motion, sponsored by its leader Jagmeet Singh, called on the government to "officially recognize the State of Palestine and maintain Canada’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace with its neighbors," and to "advocate for an end to the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories and work toward a two-state solution."

"A two-state solution requires the recognition of two states," said NDP Edmonton Strathcona MP Heather McPherson, who led the push for the motion in the debate.

McPherson said that the Palestinians needed a state and that recognizing the polity would restart the two-state solution peace process. She said that this was necessary in the face of mass Palestinian casualties and a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.

A framework for peace and justice?

The NDP MP claimed that hundreds of thousands of Canadians of every faith had written about the war in support of her position. McPherson said that the motion was a framework for peace and justice for both Israelis and Palestinians and that the end of occupation in the West Bank would lead to long-term security for Israel.

The NDP MP blamed the current dynamic on Israel, claiming that while Canadians were horrified by Hamas's October 7 Massacre, they also rejected how "Netanyahu's extremist government responded." McPherson said that the Levant was moving away from two-states, blaming Netanyahu for not accepting the solution and allowing the building of settlements in the West Bank

Joly said that the Palestinians needed a state, and supported urgent humanitarian ceasefire needed, but said that a hostage deal was needed and to be conjoined with negotiated peace in the Middle East. The Foreign Minister claimed that the world was even closer to a two state solution.

"We can't change foreign policy based on an opposition motion," said Joly.

Wellington—Halton Hills and Conservative Shadow Foreign Minister Michael Chong said declaring a two-state solution did not create one. Conservative Thornhill MP Melissa Lantsman accused the government of being held captive by the NDP and said that the "motion is about rewarding Hamas for a massacre."

McPherson said that if a Palestinian state was recognized, then the International Criminal Court would have jurisdiction over both Israel and Hamas.  

The government would be called upon by the NDP motion to support prosecution of crimes and violations of international law in the Levant, in cooperation with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC). In the preamble, the ICJ's January 26 measures in response to South Africa's genocide accusations against Israel were noted.

McPherson said that the Canadian government was losing credibility by hindering South Africa's legal actions, and was allowing the international order by not calling for an immediate ceasefire. Joly said that the government advocated for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow for the entry of aid. Lantsman said that a true ceasefire motion would call for Hamas to surrender and release hostages, thereby ending the war.

The NDP motion called for an immediate ceasefire the release of Hamas's hostages, and the restoration of funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Joly said that Canada had resumed funding of UNRWA while working to reform the agency, which has been accused of harboring extremists and employing terrorists. Chong said that there were other options for supplying Gazans with aid than supporting an organization with alleged ties to terrorist organizations.

Joly also assured the plenum that the government was not issuing permits for military equipment and had not done so since October 7. McPherson called to stop arms trade with Israel and accused "extremists ministers" in Netanyahu's government of encouraging human rights abuses, such as National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givr for arming "extremist settlers." The NDP MP also accused Netanyahu of sidelining the families and denying them a ceasefire so he could continue with the military campaign. Joly claimed that radical Israelis had killed 300 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 7.

The motion advocated for the government to sanction certain Israelis and boycott defense trade with Jerusalem.

"Ban extremist settlers from Canada, impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide, and maintain sanctions on Hamas leaders," read the motion. "Suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas."

McPherson accused Israel of war crimes, such as torturing hospital staff. Liberal, NDP, Green, and Bloc Québécois MPs repeatedly cited the same Hamas Health Ministry figures about 30,000 Palestinian civilians killed to underscore the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The motion claimed that Gaza was"the most dangerous place in the world to be a child." The NDP is consequently seeking for Canada to demand unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and the lifting of a cap of 1,000 temporary resident visa applications for Palestinians.

Chong said that Hamas had started the war, bore responsibility for its continuance, and reminded the House of the atrocities committed by the terrorist organization. The Conservative blasted the "antisemitic approach" in which the Jewish state was singled out for condemnation. Joly said that the government was concerned about a planned IDF invasion of the Hamas stronghold of Rafah and said that Canadians had lost family in both Israel and Gaza, and at home, both Jewish and Muslim Canadians had suffered hate in the form of rising antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Liberal Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill MP Leah Taylor Roy questioned how the motion would end suffering and not just cause more division. Tensions rose when McPherson alleged that Roy was in favor of the killing of children.

Israeli ambassador to Canada denounces motion

On Monday, the Israeli ambassador to Canada denounced the motion hours before the debate.

“The one-sided recognition of a Palestinian state rewards Hamas – a listed terrorist organization by the Government of Canada – for its sadistic attack on October 7th which was perpetrated with the intention of annihilating the State of Israel. Empowering terrorists will only evoke more bloodshed and jeopardize any peaceful resolution to the conflict," Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed said in a statement.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) criticized the motion on Sunday, saying that it would recognize a Palestinian state "without any negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and without removing Hamas from power in Gaza." CIJA launched a campaign to send letters to MPs urging against the motion.

"This motion will not bring peace and stability now, not for Israel and not for the Palestinians," said the CIJA letter to MPs. "The NDP’s motion is inconsistent with these values and poses a direct threat to Canada’s longstanding foreign policy."

Singh pushed his own letter campaign to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

"For five months, we have watched horror unfold in Gaza and in Israel. We grieve with two peoples utterly traumatized by violence, death, and terror. And we are outraged by Canada’s failure to take actions to try to stop it," said the campaign letter. "Prime Minister, for five months, we have urged you to find the moral courage to take action to stop this horror. We are outraged by your failure to act."