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.

Iran’s decision to rain missiles upon Tel Aviv last week will unleash a response that means trouble for the whole world. 

By Sheila Copps
First published in The Hill Times on October 7, 2024.

OTTAWA—We are commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Hamas slaughter of innocent Israelis this week.

On Oct. 7 of last year, Hamas attacked young people attending a music festival and old people quietly living in their homes with a fury that seems impossible to understand.

But those of us who don’t understand why have only to take a page from the book of Iran’s supreme leader.

He can tell women what to do and what to wear, and what the penalties are for not following his advice.

If you don’t have your head covered in the right way, you can be subjected to physical attacks and imprisonment. In some cases, those attacks have led to death.

In 2022, Mahsa Amini was killed while in custody after being arrested for not properly wearing her head covering.

Penalties can also be levied for sexual relations outside of marriage, including stoning someone to death.

Likewise, if someone is not heterosexual, sexual relations with a same-sex partner is also punishable by death.

Death as punishment for homosexual relations is unique to Iran in the world, although Afghanistan is currently reviewing the application of a similar policy.

There is a reason that hundreds of ex-patriot Iranians around the world were celebrating the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Iran is the chief patron of Hezbollah, and has supported Nasrallah’s leadership for 32 years.

Ex-pats blame Nasrallah and the Iranian government for the oppression that has dampened the spirit of Iranian people for years.

A United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that the Iranian government was responsible for Amini’s death, and accused Iran of committing “crimes against humanity” as the result of a months-long security crackdown that killed more than 500 people, and detained more than 20,000.

The UN report said that Iranian security forces regularly used submachine guns and assault rifles against peaceful demonstrators, and noted a pattern of protesters being “branded” by shooting them in the eye, leading to permanent damage.

Iran’s Supreme Commander Ayatollah Ali Khamenei doesn’t see any problem with his country’s internal situation, although thousands of Iranians may think otherwise.

He has been in power since 1979, the year which marked the end of “westernizing” Iran with the departure of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

His government’s view of the Middle East is that all problems would be solved if only Israel would disappear. He blames all challenges there on the Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon.

Thousands of Canadian supporters of Palestine have been lobbying non-stop for an end to the war in Gaza in an effort to save thousands of lives, and end the displacement of thousands more.

There are now more than one million Lebanese who are on the move to get away from the fighting, and to find safety for their families.

Most protesters would not want to strengthen Iran’s hand, but they have been silent on surrogates in the region like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Hamas carried out an unprecedented civilian slaughter on Oct. 7, 2023.

Silence doubles as support for Hamas, and one result of the Iranian attack on Israel is that Iran is no longer silently fuelling Israel’s enemies.

Instead, it is leading the charge with its stated intent to eliminate Israel’s existence.

Israel is receiving international support for the right to defend itself against the Iranian incursion.

Its ground invasion of Lebanon has already led to military casualties.

But the incursion into Gaza and the wanton deaths of thousands of civilians have raised the global ire of millions.

To date, most of the pressure has been focused on Israelis to withdraw from Gaza as the only way to secure the release of the hostages who have now been held for a full year.

But now the pressure point will be on Iran. And those in the Arab world who do not support Iran will be called to engage in the fight.

Iran’s decision to rain missiles upon Tel Aviv last week will unleash a response that means trouble for the whole world.

Already one of the outcomes is a rapid hike in the price of oil, which puts the fragile economic recovery under threat.

The hike may help producers, but will put further stress on Canadian consumers.

Meanwhile, the world is waiting with bated breath as we teeter on the edge of a world war.

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