Canadian MPs warn against “constant humiliation” of Palestinians

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

MPs who visited West Bank urge action against “constant humiliation” of Palestinians

Ps returning from a visit to the West Bank argue Canada needs to do more to prevent escalating tensions between Palestinians and Israelis, as they recount distressing scenes from the occupied territories.

“We can’t imagine what the people of Palestine are going through,” said Liberal MP Shafqat Ali. “What we witnessed with our own eyes, it’s basically constant humiliation, and constant mental torture.”

He’s among a group of three NDP and two Liberal MPs who spent last week meeting with Palestinian refugees in Jordan, as well as the West Bank and East Jerusalem, as guests of Muslim advocacy groups.

The visit followed a trip to Israel last November organized by Canadian Jewish federations in which a group of different Liberal and Conservative MPs heard about the lasting impact of the Hamas attack in October that sparked the latest Israel-Hamas war.

Feds to announce new plan for student visas

Immigration Minister Marc Miller is expected to outline a plan today to reduce the number of international students issued permits to study in Canada.

The move comes as the federal cabinet is in the midst of a three-day retreat in Montreal preparing for the upcoming sitting of Parliament. 

It also comes five months after the last cabinet retreat in Charlottetown where Miller and Housing Minister Sean Fraser began floating the idea of capping international student visas.

Miller has promised multiple times in recent months to find solutions to an influx of international students which he has acknowledged is contributing to a costly housing shortage across the country.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Mass stabbing inquest enters second week

The province is expected to provide information about how it responded to a mass stabbing on a Saskatchewan First Nation as a coroner’s inquest enters its second week. 

The inquest is scheduled to hear information today about the Saskatchewan Health Authority and the province’s warrant suppression team.

Myles Sanderson killed 11 people and injured 17 others on James Smith Cree Nation and in the nearby village of Weldon, northeast of Saskatoon, on Sept. 4, 2022.

The 32-year-old died in police custody a few days later.

Union warns SkyTrain could shut down too as deadline for Vancouver bus strike looms

The union representing SkyTrain employees in Metro Vancouver says it’s prepared to shut down all services Monday in solidarity with bus supervisors as a deadline to resolve a dispute with Coast Mountain Bus Company looms.

CUPE Local 7000 _ which represents rapid transit and rail workers _ says the bus supervisors’ union has filed a Labour Board complaint about efforts by transit providers to limit the impact any strike would have on commuters.

The SkyTrain union says in a statement to members that if the complaint is upheld, picket lines would spread to SkyTrain sites and this would halt the rail service.

CUPE Local 4500, representing more than 180 transit supervisors, has said strike action will get underway at 3 a.m. Monday for 48 hours if no deal is reached, shutting down bus and SeaBus services.

Prairie drought heightens risk of soil erosion

Drought on the Prairies is raising the risk that farmers’ valuable topsoil will go blowing in the wind.

Federal mapping shows 81 per cent of agricultural land in Canada is either abnormally dry or in a state of drought this winter.

When drought causes crops to fail, there may not be enough vegetation on fields in the early spring to hold down the topsoil.

Dry and windy conditions can lead to clouds of dust lifting off the fields and blowing onto roads, into ditches, or onto neighbours’ property.

Prevention push credited for Montreal murder drop

Montreal police say a year-over-year drop in the number of homicides in the city is a sign that violence-prevention and crime-fighting strategies are paying off.

But those strategies, which include a greater police presence in certain neighbourhoods, and the monitoring of people showing high-risk behaviour, have critics complaining that police are focusing more on repression than prevention.

Last year, there were 33 homicides reported on the Island of Montreal — including the deaths of seven people in a burning building in the historic part of the city — down from 41 in 2022.  

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 22, 2024.

The Canadian Press