Policy and Rights

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon speech & UN Security Council meeting on the Middle East Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, addresses reporters ahead of the critical Security Council meeting on the Middle East, focusing on the Palestinian issue. Watch as Danon outlines Israel’s stance and key topics expected to be discussed in this high-stakes session. Stay tuned for the Security...

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Violence against Women and Girls - Press conference by Special rapporteur Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem said, “Violence against women and girls in sport is a serious, systemic and systematic human rights issue that demands immediate attention at all levels.” Addressing reporters today (8 Oct) on Violence against Women and Girls in sport, Alsalem explored the f...

Middle East situation: UN Chief's Media Stakeout Secretary-General António Guterres today (8 Oct) told journalists the United Nations Palestine refugee agency (UNRWA) “more than ever is indispensable” and “irreplaceable” and said he had “written directly to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express profound concern about draft legislation that could prevent UNRWA from continuing its ess...

“Socially relevant issues have been the driving force behind my work since my high school days. As a filmmaker and storyteller, I strongly believe it is our responsibility to scrutinize our society’s perpetuation of stereotypes and prejudices, which stem from outdated traditions and an inadequate educational system. Rather than glorifying and romanticizing these harmful elements, as often seen in...

Ministers on Bloc demands for Liberal government, conflict in Lebanon Ministers speak briefly with reporters on Parliament Hill before the federal cabinet holds its weekly meeting. Mark Holland (health), Karina Gould (government House leader), Randy Boissonnault (employment) and Steven Guilbeault (environment) face questions on the Bloc Québécois’ demand of increasing benefits to seniors as one of...

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a news conference on Parliament Hill to provide her weekly economic update. She announces the payment amounts for the government’s carbon rebates for small- and medium-sized businesses, which will deliver over $2.5 billion to about 600,000 businesses before the end of the year. She also announces the government has finalized the list of Chinese steel and al...

MPs speak with reporters on Parliament Hill as they convene for the daily question period in the House of Commons. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly faces questions on the conflict in Lebanon and on the federal government’s efforts to evacuate Canadian citizens from the country. Joly also comments on Iran’s missile attacks against Israel and reiterates the government’s calls for a ceasefire to...

School staff Gender inclusive classrooms Including sexual orientation and gender diversity in school codes of conduct and anti-bullying policies improves the school climate for 2SLGBTQIA+ students by reducing discrimination and harassment. Teachers may include the B.C. Human Rights Code, sexual orientation, and gender diversity in classroom discussions. Being gender inclusive in the classroom mean...

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, addresses the General Debate of the 79th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (New York, 24 - 30 September 2024). World leaders gather to engage in the annual high-level General Debate under the theme, "Unity and diversity for advancing peace, sustainable development, and human dignity, everywhere and for all." Heads of St...

conference on Parliament Hill, NDP Foreign Affairs critic Heather McPherson and deputy leader Alexandre Boulerice reiterate their party’s call for peace and justice amid the Israel-Hamas war. The NDP is urging the federal government to recognize Palestinian statehood, impose sanctions on the Netanyahu government, and impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel. Become a supporter of this podcast: http...

What is gender identity? Gender Identity is the internal and psychological sense of oneself as a woman, a man, both, in between, or neither. Gender identity is unique to each individual and is not determined by sex or defined by sexual orientation. For many people, their gender identity matches the sex they were assigned at birth. This is referred to as cisgender. For others, their gender identity...

UN Under Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder said that “The idea” of the Summit of the Future “is to render the United Nations a multilateral system more effective in the fulfillment of its mandate, to make it more participatory, more networked, this in the face of the very clear global challenges that we face.” Briefing the press today (11 Sep) on the programme and objectives of the UN’s Summi...

Federal ministers Steven Guilbeault (environment) and Randy Boissonnault (employment) hold a news conference in Ottawa to discuss the introduction of legislation in the House of Commons to amend the Canada National Parks Act. The proposed changes would enable the transfer of land use planning and development authorities from Parks Canada to the Municipality of Jasper, which will help rebuild the 3...

Occupied Palestinian Territory The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that today its team was able to reach northern Gaza for the first time in four weeks. OCHA was leading an inter-agency assessment mission to Gaza City. However, they were only able to reach the north after being forced to wait for more than five hours before and at the Israeli checkpoint on the Coastal Road...

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly opened on September 10 in New York, with incoming President Philemon Yang outlining a vision of unity in diversity and calling for deeper international cooperation to tackle a host of global challenges, including climate change, escalating conflict, and a slowdown in sustainable development. Mr. Yang underscored the need for equitable economic growth dri...

Immigration Minister Marc Miller and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly speak with reporters in Nanaimo, B.C., on the second day of the Liberal Party's three-day national caucus retreat. Minister Miller comments on the arrest of a man who allegedly plotted a terrorist attack on a Jewish centre in New York City, and confirms that the arrested man is a Pakistani national who entered Canada on a s...

riefing reporters today (5 Sep) UN experts raised alarms over the increasing severity of global food crises, revealing that the number of people facing catastrophic hunger has more than doubled in the past year. In a press briefing on the 2024 Global Report on Food Crises, Máximo Torero, Chief Economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said "the number of people facing or projected...

These laws, part of the Taliban’s efforts to enforce their interpretation of Islamic morality, have been met with horror and outrage from human rights groups and international bodies, the UN has reported. The newly published “vice and virtue” laws, approved by Taliban supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, mandate that women must completely cover their bodies, including their faces, with thick clot...

In Toronto, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh holds his first news conference after announcing that his party will withdraw from its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberal government. The agreement, originally signed in March 2022, has guaranteed NDP support for the minority Liberal government on budgetary and confidence votes in the House of Commons. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://w...

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh's decision to pull his party out of the confidence-and-supply agreement with the governing Liberals injects a lot of uncertainty into Canadian politics — and it could lead to a federal election earlier than planned. The Liberal government is on shakier ground now that it can't rely on the NDP to prop it up on confidence votes in a Parliament where Team Trudeau holds a mino...

The NDP entered a supply and confidence deal with the Liberals in 2022. The party agreed to keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government in power until 2025 in exchange for movement on priorities like dental and pharmacare. Poilievre wrote to Singh to call on him to vote no confidence in the government when the House returns next month. Poilievre says the NDP doesn't have a mandate to keep Trud...

In Winnipeg, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an address to a conference of the International Union of Operating Engineers. In his remarks, the prime minister discusses the importance of organized labour and comments on the recent railway labour disputes. He is joined by Labour and Seniors Minister Steven MacKinnon. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/policy-...

Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat The Government of Canada is taking a whole-of-government approach to strengthen our economy and reduce the cost of living for Canadians. In doing so, we must continue to work with all partners to increase productivity and remove regulatory barriers so businesses and our economy can thrive. As part of these efforts, the Honourable Anita Anand, President of Treas...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks with reporters in Halifax, where he is attending a three-day retreat of the federal cabinet. He announces that Canada will be imposing a 100-per-cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles (EVs) and a 25-per-cent tariff on Chinese steel and aluminum. He also announces that his government is tightening rules and restricting eligibility to reduce the number of...