A new draft bill by the National Council of Canadian Muslims calls on Parliament to formally recognize the state of Palestine, marking what the group says would be a historic step in Canadian foreign policy, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.“What is happening right now in Gaza is one of the great moral issues of our time, if not the greatest,” CEO of the National Council Stephen Brown told reporters. “This doesn’t bode well for us as Canadians … First model legislation in Canadian history that charts our own course as a nation on Palestinian human rights.”The draft law, called the Act For Canada To Stand For Human Rights and Peace In The Middle East, has not yet been tabled in Parliament..It proposes that Canada recognize Palestine as an independent country, waive biometric checks for Gazan refugees, observe May 15 as a national day marking the exile of Palestinians, and commit to following rulings from the International Criminal Court.A similar bill proposed last year by then-NDP MP Matthew Green (Hamilton Centre) was never introduced before he lost his seat in the April 28 election.MP Heather McPherson (Edmonton Strathcona), a long time advocate of Palestinian rights, said formal recognition could be done swiftly. “The decision to recognize the state of Palestine is a political choice,” said McPherson during a Commons hearing last November. “This is something that could be done by the Minister of Foreign Affairs without delay. It’s possible legally.”.McPherson compared the issue to Kosovo. “When we recognized Kosovo, the recognition was seen as a step toward stabilizing the Balkans,” said McPherson. “Yet in Palestine, after decades of displacement and violence, we continue to have one of the world’s longest-standing crises.”McPherson was one of 30 MPs to sign a 2024 petition backing Palestinian statehood. Only nine returned to Parliament, including New Democrats Don Davies, Leah Gazan, Lori Idlout, Gord Johns, Jenny Kwan, and McPherson, Liberals Iqra Khalid and Salma Zahid, and Green MP Elizabeth May..Several Liberal MPs now in Parliament had also pledged to support recognition and criticize Israel over alleged genocide. Among them were Tim Louis, Patrick Weiler, Sameer Zuberi, and Adam van Koeverden.Van Koeverden, recently named Minister of State for Sport, attended his first cabinet meeting this week. Asked if he hoped to influence foreign policy, he said, “I hope to bring my constituents’ voices to Ottawa.”
