Close X
Thursday, December 12, 2024
ADVT 
National

Trudeau: International Criminal Court push to prosecute Israel and Hamas 'unhelpful'

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 22 May, 2024 10:21 AM
  • Trudeau: International Criminal Court push to prosecute Israel and Hamas 'unhelpful'

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau opted against taking a stance on a push from the International Criminal Court to prosecute the Israeli prime minister and Hamas leaders over the war in the Gaza Strip Tuesday.

The court's chief prosecutor requested arrest warrants Monday for Benjamin Netanyahu, his defence minister and senior Hamas leaders.

"The International Criminal Court is independent in its work, and I've said from the very beginning how important it is that everyone respect and abide by international law," Trudeau said at a Tuesday afternoon news conference in Philadelphia.

"What I will say is troubling though, is the sense of an equivalency between the democratically elected leaders of Israel and the bloodthirsty terrorists that lead up Hamas. I don't think that's helpful."

Trudeau and his ministers weighed in on the case a day after peer countries took clearer stances, with the U.S. on Monday rejecting a move to implicate Israel, while France and Belgium supported the decision.

Jewish and Muslim groups in Canada have mounted petition campaigns, asking Ottawa to take a decisive stance.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly says Canada is "very closely" following the case and also raised concerns about an equivalency being drawn, while noting that the court is suggesting different charges for each side of the conflict.

"There's no equivalency, because one organization's a terrorist organization; the other one is a state. That being said, (the) charges that have been laid are different."

She also wouldn't say whether Canada would arrest Israeli officials if they did end up subject of an international arrest warrant and visited Canada, saying that this is a theoretical situation. Joly added that senior Hamas leaders are already barred from Canada due to terrorism and sanctions laws.

A handful of vocal Liberal MPs have taken more definitive stances since news of the arrest warrants were announced.

Iqra Khalid, who represents a Toronto-area riding, said in a post on X that Canada must respect the ICC and its independence.

Anthony Housefather, whose Montreal riding has a large Jewish population, argued the decision was drawing a moral equivalency between terrorist leaders and democratically elected politicians.

Their Toronto colleague Salma Zahid said Ottawa should support the ICC's legal process, arguing its role is "not to judge moral equivalence, but to impartially consider the evidence."

Another Montreal MP, Sameer Zuberi, added in his own social-media post that Canada must await the result of the request, while noting that "no party to an armed conflict is above the law."

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was repeatedly asked for Canada's position on the developments earlier Tuesday at an unrelated press conference. 

"It is entirely inappropriate to equate the terrorist leaders of a terrorist organization with the democratically elected leaders of a democracy," she said.

But Freeland would not comment on whether or not Ottawa supports the request for warrants to be issued, characterizing that as "preliminary" and "hypothetical." 

The Liberals and NDP passed a parliamentary motion in March that called on Canada to "support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court." 

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said in a social-media post that Trudeau "must respect his promise to Canadians," and asked for clarity in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

MORE National ARTICLES

Bank of Canada holds its key interest rate steady at 5% in final decision of 2023

Bank of Canada holds its key interest rate steady at 5% in final decision of 2023
The Bank of Canada is not ruling out future rate hikes just yet. The Bank of Canada projected that in October that inflation will fall back to the two per cent target in 2025.  

Bank of Canada holds its key interest rate steady at 5% in final decision of 2023

Most Canadians want more federal spending on health care, housing: poll

Most Canadians want more federal spending on health care, housing: poll
A majority of Canadians think the federal government should spend more on health care, a housing strategy and initiatives to ease inflation and cost-of-living issues, a new poll suggests — but they also want it to freeze or reduce other spending. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the new Leger poll, or 71 per cent, said the federal government should spend more on health care and health transfers to the provinces.

Most Canadians want more federal spending on health care, housing: poll

B.C. says 578 foreign-educated nurses registered in 2023, doubling intake

B.C. says 578 foreign-educated nurses registered in 2023, doubling intake
The first yearly update on B.C.'s health human resources strategy says 578 internationally educated nurses became fully registered in the province in 2023 compared with 288 in 2022. Staffing shortfalls have been blamed for a series of health-care woes across the province, including emergency room closures, overcrowding and hundreds of thousands of people going without a family doctor.

B.C. says 578 foreign-educated nurses registered in 2023, doubling intake

Coast Guard investigates oily sheen covering Vancouver's False Creek

Coast Guard investigates oily sheen covering Vancouver's False Creek
The Canadian Coast Guard says it's trying to identify the source of a diesel smell and sheen covering Vancouver's False Creek. It says it received a report of the apparent pollution around 6:20 p.m. Monday, but couldn't determine the source due to heavy rain and poor visibility.

Coast Guard investigates oily sheen covering Vancouver's False Creek

Lookout for the "Grinch" over holidays: Crime Stoppers

Lookout for the
Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers is reminding people to be on the lookout for the “Grinch” this holiday season. The agency says as street crimes are hitting an all-time high, porch pirates, parking lot break-and-enters and online fraud are among the things to watch out for this holiday season.  

Lookout for the "Grinch" over holidays: Crime Stoppers

Illicit drugs seized in Surrey

Illicit drugs seized in Surrey
Mounties in Surrey say a “large quantity of illicit drugs” has been seized from two locations in north of the city. Police say officers executed two search warrants in North Surrey, leading to the arrest of two people.

Illicit drugs seized in Surrey