Pros, cons to municipal party approach in Alberta: political scientist
Members of PACE (Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton) municipal political party on May 12, 2025. (CTV News Edmonton)
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CTV News
15 minutes ago
- CTV News
U.S. condemns Canada, allies over move to sanction two far-right Israeli ministers
Canada is joining the U.K. in sanctioning two Israeli ministers over comments they made about Gaza. The United States is condemning Canada and other countries over sanctions imposed Tuesday on two far-right Israeli ministers for comments they say incite 'violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.' 'These sanctions do not advance U.S.-led efforts to achieve a ceasefire, bring all hostages home, and end the war,' U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. 'We reject any notion of equivalence: Hamas is a terrorist organization that committed unspeakable atrocities, continues to hold innocent civilians hostage, and prevents the people of Gaza from living in peace. We remind our partners not to forget who the real enemy is.' Rubio is also urging countries to reverse the measures. Earlier Tuesday, a senior government source told CTV News that Canada will impose a travel ban on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, as well as freeze any assets. Foreign ministers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom later released a joint statement claiming Ben-Gvir and Smotrich 'have incited extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights.' 'These actions are not acceptable. We have engaged the Israeli Government on this issue extensively, yet violent perpetrators continue to act with encouragement and impunity. This is why we have taken this action now – to hold those responsible to account,' the statement goes on to say. In recent months, both have called for the permanent conquest of Gaza and re-establishment of the Jewish settlements there. They've also campaigned against allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza. The joint statement also reiterates the five countries' call for a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians and says the measures announced on Tuesday 'do not deviate from our unwavering support for Israel's security and we continue to condemn the horrific terror attacks of 7 October by Hamas.' Speaking to reporters on Parliament Hill on Tuesday, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said, 'the measures are not directed against the state of Israel itself.' Asked whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also face sanctions, Anand did not answer directly. 'These two individuals promoted extremist settler violence, and it has to stop,' Anand said. 'I will add they are members of Netanyahu's government. They are not members of his party, but rather coalition partners from far-right parties.' Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney issued a rare joint statement with the U.K. and France, demanding Israel stop its 'egregious' military actions in Gaza and its 'denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population.' In response at the time, Netanyahu lashed out at Carney, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron and accused them of 'emboldening Hamas.' With files from CTV News' Chief Political Correspondent Vassy Kapelos
CTV News
20 minutes ago
- CTV News
Hobby shops say it will be game over for their businesses due to Quebec's language law
Customer Valentin Puchkarov rolls the dice at La boutique Tabletop game store in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que. on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (CTV News) Some hobby shops say they're at risk of going out of business due to Quebec's new language law because the products they sell are unavailable in French. They are now asking for an exemption. 'I realized that about 90 per cent of my shop is illegal,' Marc-André Lalande, owner of La boutique Tabletop game store in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que., told CTV News. That's because products he sells are made abroad and the packaging is primarily in English. 'Right now, we do have a bit of French on the top of the box here. We have this. That's all,' he explained. For example, Para Bellum Games, a company based in Athens, Greece, makes the Conquest game, but Lalande says there is no other language than English on the box. At BD Cosmos in Laval, it's a similar story. Owner Julien Vazquez says about 30 per cent of his store, including games, cards, and art supplies, would be in violation of the law, commonly known as Bill 96. 'I would have to liquidate the entire line or close that portion of the store to Quebec customers and only sell online to the rest of Canada,' Vazquez said Tuesday. The store owners say these materials simply aren't available in French, and under strengthened language laws, wouldn't be available to customers here. Lalande said many playing games, miniature games, as well as paints and brushes are manufactured in England, Spain and Denmark. 'There's no way they're going to make a box for Quebec, which represents a 10th of 1 per cent of the western world,' Lalande said. The retailers are asking for an exemption to the law, saying much like bookstores, it's a cultural industry. Without a reprieve for stores like La Boutique Tabletop, it would be a fatal blow. '[I'll] close … if I have to do that, it's just not possible,' the owner said. 'I've survived COVID. I've survived, you know, floods and now that would be the end of it. That would be really sad.' 'Unfortunately, the repercussions that it's going to have on our little community are massive,' said customer Valentin Puchkarov. Another customer, Mathieu Courtemanche, added: 'My main concern is that my hobby will be unattainable in Quebec.' If that's the case, it would be game over for these players.
National Post
25 minutes ago
- National Post
Who's responsible for online harms? Responsibility for troubled file floats between ministers
OTTAWA — As ministers settle into their new roles, discussions are underway about who is best suited to steer the government's efforts to legislate against online harms, cabinet minister Steven Guilbeault said on Tuesday. Article content Questions have arisen about which minister and department would be best suited to handle the complicated issue after the Liberals' proposed Online Harms Act died in Parliament when Prime Minister Mark Carney triggered a federal election in March. Article content Article content 'It's a good question,' said Guilbeault, who oversees the Canadian Heritage department, told reporters on his way into the Liberals' weekly cabinet meeting. Article content Article content Canadian Heritage had been the first department to develop and later introduce the Liberals' initial plan to combat the harms Canadian users experience online. Article content That proposal, which was released in 2021, was met with widespread backlash over concerns about the requirement for social media companies to remove content within 24 hours after receiving a complaint. Experts had warned the provision was overly broad and risked infringing on free expression, given that companies could remove legal content. Article content The Liberals then struck an advisory group and got to work on figuring out a Plan B. Article content Responsibility for the bill also shifted from Canadian Heritage to the Justice Department. Article content In early 2024, former justice minister Arif Vriani introduced Bill C-63, which proposed to create a new digital safety regulator that would be tasked with ensuring social media giants took steps to reduce users' access to content, such as child sex abuse images and incite extremism and violence. Article content That bill was also met with backlash over its proposal to introduce stiffer sentences for hate-related offences and reintroduce a controversial section to the Canadian Human Rights Act to allow people to bring forward complaints of hate speech, which civil liberties advocates and Parliamentarians said risked violating free speech. Article content Virani spent months defending the need for the tougher Criminal Code measures to be included in the online safety bill, but last December announced the government was prepared to split the bill to help get it passed. Article content In January, former prime minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation and that Parliament would be suspended until March. Article content Emily Laidlaw, a Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity law at the University of Calgary, who sat on the government's expert advisory group, said it was a mistake for the government to have combined different provisions into the same legislation and that by the time it announced the legislation would be split, 'it was too late.'
