'Room for improvement' in First Nations summit, says minister
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CBC
25 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.
CTV News
an hour 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.
CTV News
an hour ago
- CTV News
Israeli ambassador rejects PM Carney's criticism of aid delivery in Gaza
Israel Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed delivers remarks during a commemorative event in solidarity with Jewish community members on the anniversary of Oct. 7 hostilities in Ottawa, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby OTTAWA — Israel's ambassador in Ottawa has issued a statement rejecting Canada's 'condemnation' of humanitarian aid delivery in Gaza. The statement from Ambassador Iddo Moed urges Canada to keep up pressure on Hamas to release hostages and support a comprehensive framework to end the war. It comes after Prime Minister Mark Carney on Thursday accused the Israeli government of failing to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and of violating international law by denying aid. In a post on X, Carney said Israel's control of aid distribution must be replaced by 'comprehensive provision' of humanitarian assistance led by international organizations. Moed insists in his statement that Israel is committed to upholding international law and is serving as an 'active partner' in facilitating the flow of aid into Gaza. Canada is among more than two dozen countries, along with the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia, that issued a joint statement earlier this week calling for an immediate end to the conflict in Gaza.
