The world cannot turn a blind eye to the struggle for survival that has been faced by ordinary Palestinians who were not involved in the attacks

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on August 4, 2025.

OTTAWA—The Carney cabinet was right to follow the lead of France and Great Britain in recognizing the state of Palestine.

Canada followed the lead of Great Britain in announcing a conditional recognition based on the calling of free and fair elections by the Palestinian Authority, effectively granting the long-promised two-state solution.

The United States and Israel were not happy with the announcement by Prime Minister Mark Carney. They both claimed recognition rewards terrorism.

Hamas should never be rewarded for the horrific massacre carried out on Oct. 7, 2023, that took the lives of 1,195 people, including 736 civilians and 36 children. Many of them were doing nothing more than attending a music festival when the largest incursion into Israeli territory began with a barrage of more than 4,300 rockets.

Two hundred fifty people were taken hostage and the majority of global democratic nations decried the invasion as an act of terrorism.

They were right.

But almost two years have passed and there appears to be no end in sight as the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to carry out his plan for a single-state in Gaza.

He attacked the British announcement through social media, accusing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of setting up a “jihadist state on Israel’s border TODAY which will threaten Britain TOMORROW.”

But the world cannot turn a blind eye to the struggle for survival that has been faced by ordinary Palestinians who were not involved in the attacks. Approximately 90 per cent of the population has been displaced and continued military incursions by the Israeli defence forces have resulted in the death of more than 60,000 Palestinians, according to their health authority.

The health ministry also reported that 145,870 people were injured. On the Israeli side, some 887 soldiers have been killed since the war began and 18,500 have been injured.

But the images of children facing starvation because of a lack of food being allowed into Gaza has moved world opinion in a way that sets the stage for the establishment of a two-state solution.

For years, Canada and allies including the United States have supported the political construct of two states.

In that context, our country could not sit idle while the Israeli prime minister seeks to simply impose the single state of Israel.

Obviously both sides will have to recognize each other’s right to exist. That includes the Palestinian leadership agreeing to the existence of the state of Israel and vice versa.

Canada will no doubt face repercussions from Netanyahu and the American president, who has also warned against rewarding terrorists. Trump also acknowledged that he did not discuss the Middle East conflict with Starmer during a five-day visit to Scotland which included a private meeting between the two leaders.

Strange that global affairs were not on the agenda, but apparently the president was preoccupied promoting his Scottish golf course and real estate interests. His final day on the trip was devoted to a ribbon-cutting on a new golf course, carrying his name in northern Scotland.

Most of the presidential agenda was tied to promoting a golfing trifecta that is the brainchild of his son, Eric. The younger Trump designed what is being billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf.”

It is rather incredible that Trump is able to use his office as a platform to promote the family business with virtually no public pushback. According to news reports, he has his assets in trust. But surely using a public international trip to promote them should be seen as the conflict of interest that it is.

Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was politically excoriated because his mother was paid less than $1,000 per appearance by the now-defunct We Charity. The payments totalling $250,000 over four years became such a political tsunami that the organization ended up folding.

Apparently, the conflict bar is not as high in the United States. Trump was so busy golfing that he had no time to bring up the touchy subject of Gaza. Notwithstanding multiple reports of starvation, Trump says he is working with Israel toward a ceasefire.

The British, French and Canadian moves put pressure on Israel. For the Brits, recognition of nationhood only happens if Netanyahu continues to attack Gaza.

A ceasefire would end the British pledge for recognition.

But the French have already made it very clear that no matter the outcome of the ceasefire condition, they are prepared to recognize Palestine. As for Canada, recognition involves a free election. The creation of two states is the only path to peace. Countries like France, Great Britain and Canada need to make it happen.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Justin Trudeau believes his strong campaigning skills will kick into high gear when people finally have a chance to compare and contrast him with Pierre Poilievre, but Poilievre has a head of steam going which gets people excited. The winds of change have not bypassed Canada.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on July 4, 2024.

OTTAWA—The winds of political change are blowing everywhere.

Instead of interpreting that as a renaissance of the right, we have to assume that voter fatigue in multiple countries is fuelling this desire for change.

In the case of the United Kingdom, that wind led to a majority Labour government win on July 4.

British Conservatives have been in power for 14 years.

But unlike Canadian Liberals, the British Tories have motored through five leaders during the same period.

The revolving door on British leadership is prompted by a rule similar to that of Canadian Conservatives. If the majority of caucus votes against the leader, they are dismissed from power.

In the British Parliament, the dumping of leaders by caucus springs from rules written into party constitutions.

In Canada, only the Conservatives can trigger a leadership review. That process stems from a private member’s bill adopted unanimously in the House of Commons on condition that implementation is up to each caucus to be voted on privately at the beginning of a new Parliament.

Because of this rule, even if Pierre Poilievre were to secure a majority government in the next election, if his popularity flagged, he could be quickly replaced.

In the case of the United Kingdom, the revolving door leads to internal party divisions that are hard to heal.

In the dying dies of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s campaign, former prime minister Boris Johnson was brought in to rally the troops. He rallied hard, but did little to support his leader.

Instead, he used his time on stage in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood to praise his own initiatives, and trash the left.

He simply ignored Sunak, who was part of the group that dumped him. With such Tory in-fighting, the Labour Party has doubled its lead heading into a vote predicted to be a washout for the governing party.

From France to Canada, from the United Kingdom to the United States, multiple western leaders are suffering from voter fatigue.

Some may also be suffering from personal fatigue.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s performance in the June 27 debate against Donald Trump was palpably painful to watch. He struggled to keep his train of thought, and spoke in a gravelly, weakened voice. There were moments when he appeared to be confused about what the issue was. His wife, Jill, went up to the podium at the end to usher Biden away, as one would do for an elderly relative with balance problems.

All in all, it reinforced the narrative that Biden should not be the Democratic Party’s choice in the next election if they intend to defeat Trump.

Americans are also suffering from price fatigue and inflation, but there does not seem to be the obvious stampede to the right that one witnessed in the first round of the French elections last week.

Instead, the American race is a sparring match between relatively equal political movements, with the two-party system almost split down the middle.

But with the mental and physical feebleness Biden displayed on debate night, his party will be ceding the election to the Trump Republicans unless he is encouraged to step aside.

In the French coalition system with multiple parties, the group led by President Emmanuel Macron is running a poor third in the vote he himself triggered early.

Like the U.K’s Sunak, Macron called a surprise election. Both seem to be facing imminent defeat because of their own bad judgement.

In Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s case, he is hoping that time will heal all wounds. But it may also be that time is running out because the governance agreement with Jagmeet Singh’s New Democrats will expire early next year.

The shocking Liberal loss in Toronto-St. Paul’s, Ont., left the party with a sense of foreboding that will fester when they hear negative feedback on the summer barbecue circuit.

Unlike Sunak, Trudeau cannot simply be dumped by a vote of his caucus.

Like Biden, Trudeau must reflect on whether his presence in the next election will be a plus or a minus.

The prime minister believes his strong campaigning skills will kick into high gear when people finally have a chance to compare and contrast him with Poilievre.

But the prime minister also needs boots on the ground, though with many Liberals both privately and publicly expressing their reservations, the volunteer base of the party will be shrinking.

Poilievre has a head of steam going which gets people excited.

The winds of change have not bypassed Canada.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.

Last week’s world conference was an opportunity to refocus global attention on the long-term challenges we face if the planet fails to curb coastal erosion and land degradation. The risk of death faced by climate change is far greater than anything this pandemic delivered.

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on January 18, 2021.

Just as the post-Trump America is a very different place, the post-COVID world will change us all forever.

Virtual meetings have gone from being a techie tool used by geeks to the go-to place for people to meet globally.

A year ago, no one could have envisioned an international meeting of leaders on global warming taking place virtually.

But that is just what happened last week when French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a virtual One Planet Summit of first ministers and environment ministers from around the world.

The summit was organized by the French government in concert with the United Nations and the World Bank.

Its aim was to refocus world attention on the climate crisis and the role played by biodiversity in achieving carbon capture targets.

Macron compared the global fight for biodiversity to a human rights battle. “I do not believe that the right of any other living creature is higher than a human right. But I do not believe in the effectiveness of preserving human rights without preserving the ecosystems. For me, this is the philosophical and ethical basis for this battle for biodiversity.

At the gathering, Canada joined 49 other countries in reiterating its commitment to set aside 30 per cent of our land and water by 2030.

Because of COVID, the world’s insatiable appetite for energy has abated somewhat. But the urgency that accompanied youth marches headed by Greta Thunberg seems to have been sidelined by Covidmania.

People are focused much more on their own short-term survival than on the status of the planet.

That did not stop Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from announcing a $55-million contribution to the United Nations Land Degradation Neutrality fund designed to prevent biosphere degradation and erosion in low and middle-income countries.

The conference was attended by several key international players, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The United States and Brazil, two key players in the climate discussion, were notably absent. In one week, the new American president will likely join a world biodiversity solution.

The summit managed to assemble like-minded countries that have all committed to protecting 30 per cent of their land and water mass over the next decade.

In terms of world environmental improvement, it was the most significant gathering since the launch of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.

But the current obsession with everything COVID meant that, while a virtual meeting enlisted more participants, global coverage of these critical environmental issues has been dwarfed by the spectre of COVID-19.

Hopefully, the pandemic will be overcome soon when countries vaccinate all their citizens.

So that means, for Canada, by this fall, we should finally see an end to the ongoing lockdowns, emergency measures and life-altering changes that have forced most citizens to live like hermits since last March.

But how will we reinvigorate the debate on the global climate crisis if a gathering like the one hosted by Macron last week can barely make a ripple in the national news cycle?

Canada has taken the lead as one of the early signatories to an international treaty designed to secure natural spaces in all countries as part of a solution to environmental degradation.

According to Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, the government has already made the single largest contribution to nature conservancy in Canadian history by boosting conserved coastal areas from one per cent to 14 per cent.

Last week, the minister announced an even more aggressive target. He pledged that Canada would commit to conserve 25 per cent of our land and water by 2025. That will be the first step in our commitment to protect 30 percent of our land and water by 3030.

Wilkinson launched a clear plan, with specific targets for southern, middle and northern Canada.

He understands that simply setting aside major swathes of natural landscape in remote areas cannot be a replacement for real change in how we sustain and protect biodiversity in southern Canada.

Wilkinson is focussing on strategies for large cities, middle Canada corridors and large areas of northern wilderness. He has put in place different initiatives to support biodiversity and sustainability of these decidedly different ecosystems.

Last week’s world conference was an opportunity to refocus global attention on the long-term challenges we face if the planet fails to curb coastal erosion and land degradation.

The risk of death faced by climate change is far greater than anything this pandemic delivered.

Sheila Copps is a former Jean Chrétien-era cabinet minister and a former deputy prime minister. Follow her on Twitter at @Sheila_Copps.