ETC
6 - POLITICS
MARCH 21, 2024
St. Patrick’s day weekend rally for Palestine Anusha Siddiqui Senior Reporter
About 200 people gathered in downtown Toronto on March 16 in support of Palestine and to hold the Canadian government accountable. It was the 22nd weekend protest organized by Palestinians and allies of Palestine, including the group, Irish 4 Palestine. The media spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement, Mohammed William, said Canada is playing a part in “what the ICJ has called, plausibly a genocide” by funding and arming Israel. “Since October, Canada has sent over $28.5 million in arms to Israel. We’re here to demand a ceasefire, an arms embargo and a lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip,” William said. He said his family in the West Bank was also facing the brunt of “colonial violence, settler terrorism, dispossession, home demolitions, checkpoints and so forth.” Irish solidarity flags, Jewish solidarity flags, and Palestinian flags waved in the air as people chanted slogans such as, “Justin Trudeau
ANUSHA SIDDIQUI
Hundreds of protesters showed up on St. Patricks Day weekend in Toronto to support Palestinian rights.
pick a side, justice or genocide” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” to the beats of drums that echoed in the air. The gathering increased throughout the day and reached more than 800 protestors. The march began at Union Station through an undisclosed route. There was a heavy police presence.
Sarah Ovens, a Jewish woman, attended the protest with her sister and two young children. She said certain Jewish communities emphasized the connection between Judaism and Israel, but she was now unlearning it. “It wasn’t until I was older that I started learning more about the history of Israel and what’s happening now with the occupation,”
Ovens said. She said her grandfather was a Holocaust survivor and taught her to support the oppressed and those fighting for their freedom. “I’m here because I’m Jewish, not despite the fact that I’m Jewish in some ways,” Ovens said. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed in a recent analysis that
famine is imminent in Gaza. The IPC is a collaboration between governments, NGOs, and UN agencies to assess hunger and malnutrition. Half of Gaza, more than a million people, are experiencing a critical food shortage and are at risk of starvation, the IPC report said. A report from Oxfam International, a global human rights organization, said Israel was actively stopping the delivery of international aid to Palestinians in at least seven deliberate ways. Mohammed William said the atrocities on Palestinians were unprecedented, but the pressure on governments around the world was mounting. “Our recent demand that Canada reinstates its funding to UNRWA has been met,” he said. William said the prospects of on-ground change were unfortunately in the hands of leaders like Trudeau, Netanyahu, and Biden. “They have the power to make this go away overnight. Just by lifting the siege, allowing aid and imposing an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip,” he said.
Conservatives to call vote of non-confidence Aanchal Nigam Senior Reporter
Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre is today leading his party in a non-confidence debate in the House of Commons over the carbon tax increase slated for April 1. The procedural manoeuvre to force the government to fall in a matter of confidence is not expected to succeed. Canada’s carbon tax, part of the federal carbon pricing strategy, is set to increase on April 1, 2024. The carbon tax in Ottawa will rise three cents to 17 cents for each litre of gasoline. An opposition motion to cancel the tax failed on Wednesday, March 20, with a 205-119 vote. Following this, Poilievre proposed a carbon tax election. Before the Parliament session, the Conservative Party organized “Axe The Tax” rallies in Toronto through social media, with thousands of supporters demanding the federal government “spike the hike.” The carbon pricing is designed to incentivize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and is a key component of Canada’s commitment to addressing climate change.
BRANDON HARRIS
The federal government’s carbon tax will increase on April 1, causing gas and other fossil fuel prices to rise.
Canada said its goal is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Poilievre has been calling out Trudeau’s government over the carbon tax hike and has said “It is the last thing Canadians need.”
“Trudeau’s inflationary spending and taxes have taken more and more money out of Canadians’ pockets, leaving a record number of people using food banks, while families must choose between
heating their home or filling up their car,” the Conservative Party said in a press release on March 20. According to the Government of Canada’s website, the carbon tax in Canada works by placing a price
on the carbon emissions associated with the consumption of fossil fuels. This means the more fossil fuels consumed, such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and propane, the higher the carbon tax. The Conservative Party said in a statement on Wednesday that Trudeau and the NDP coalition partners won’t listen to people. That’s why (on March 21), Conservatives will call a vote of non-confidence in Trudeau’s Liberal Government so Canadians can vote in a Carbon Tax Election.” According to Statistics Canada’s Social Policy Simulation Database and Model, 94 per cent of households with incomes below $50,000 receive rebates that exceed their carbon-tax costs in 2023. Many in this income category see a net gain of between $20 and $40 per month, with some even seeing a net gain of $70 per month or more. Statistics Canada said only about 55 per cent of households with incomes above $250,000 receive more in rebates than they pay in costs. Only Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta are the provinces covered by the federal carbon tax and rebate system.