Trump would need special permission to attend next year’s G7 in Canada
As a result of Donald Trump’s criminal convictions he would require special permission, if he becomes U.S. president, to enter Canada for next year’s G7 summit.
The precedent-smashing guilty verdict against a major-party U.S. presidential candidate has prompted confusion about the potential international ripple effect, given that Canada is among dozens of countries to refuse entry to felons.
Canadian officials have already begun discussing, among themselves, how they would navigate what could be a novel scenario as early as next summer.
A federal official laid out to CBC News the Canadian government’s understanding of how the rules would apply, if Trump were elected president, without his 34-count conviction being overturned on appeal.
The bottom line: It would likely fall upon Canada’s immigration minister to grant Trump a special status to make him legally admissible for entry.
Canadian politicians were emphatically not touching this issue on the record when asked about it Friday, the day after a jury found Trump guilty of falsifying records.
Liberal MP Anthony Housefather said he wouldn’t engage in speculation about whether Trump might become president, but he did express horror at the thought.
“I’ve said before that Donald Trump would be a disaster for the United States, a disaster for Canada and a disaster for the world if he came back into office,” the Montreal member of Parliament told reporters Friday.
We answer your questions about Donald Trump’s criminal convictions and what it means for his right to vote and travel, and whether he would retain Secret Service protection if he were imprisoned.
“And I hope perhaps the results of the trial in New York would give Americans considering supporting Mr. Trump some second thoughts.”
A federal cabinet member wouldn’t even go that far: Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told reporters near Montreal that Canada will work with whoever wins, and he noted the countries successfully renegotiated the continental free-trade pact under Trump.
Now here’s how Trump might attend any political gathering in Canada — including the summit of G7 nations it’s hosting next summer.
Under Canada’s immigration law, felons may be criminally inadmissible for both minor and serious crimes.
A Canadian border guard would have some personal discretion to let them in. However, the Canadian official explained, this case-by-case approach is reserved for minor offences, and is usually refused.
There are also ways for felons to rehabilitate themselves over time.
But the simplest way to allow a high-profile convict into Canada, according to the Canadian official, is for the federal immigration minister to issue a temporary resident permit.
The official said this is the method used most often for foreign dignitaries or famous entertainers who have criminal convictions.
First up: A sentence, an appeal, an election
In the meantime, Trump will try untangling his problems on the home front. He announced Friday that he will appeal the ruling.
Some analysts say he has a strong chance of success. His case has triggered sharp divisions in the legal community, with some arguing that New York state’s law on falsifying business records was contorted, in his case, to apply it in novel ways.
But that appeals process could take years.
Until then, Trump has to hear his sentence. He’ll learn on July 11 whether he faces jail time, or lesser restrictions on his movement, or no penalty at all.
Alex Panetta, a Washington correspondent for CBC News, was in the New York courtroom on Thursday when the jury read out the verdict convicting former U.S. president Donald Trump of 34 charges. Here’s what he saw.
Veteran New York criminal lawyer Mark Cohen told CBC News the court could limit a convict’s travel, or even demand he surrender his passport, though that’s less likely in this case.
He then contemplated the mind-boggling scenario of a U.S. president being incapable of attending a G7 or NATO summit.
“Wouldn’t it be something to watch him participate on Zoom?” Cohen said. “Maybe a cat screen saver will pop up?”
And, of course, there’s that major upcoming event that will decide whether this scenario ever becomes a real-life concern for the Canadian government or a historical what-if.
Trump would first have to get elected president again on Nov. 5. A few months later, the winner of that election gets to fly north for the 2025 G7 summit — maybe.
It’s worth noting the last G7 in Canada also experienced Trump-related turbulence.
Trump withdrew from the summit communique, threatened new tariffs on Canada, and trash-talked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a tweet as he left the 2018 summit.
Published at Mon, 15 Apr 2024 09:35:06 +0000
Israel offers Hamas ceasefire proposal that could end war in Gaza, Biden says
Israel has confirmed it presented Hamas with a truce proposal that could immediately lead to a six-week ceasefire in Gaza, after the United States said the deal could pave the way to ending the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday he had authorized his negotiators to offer the deal to Hamas.
“The Israeli government is united in the desire to return our hostages as soon as possible and is working to achieve this goal,” the statement said.
“Therefore, the prime minister has authorized the negotiating team to present an outline for achieving this goal, while insisting that the war will not end until all of its goals are achieved, including the return of all our hostages and the destruction of Hamas’s military and governmental capabilities.”
Earlier Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden laid out details of an agreement he described as “a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages.” The deal would be implemented in three phases, the first of which would bring the ceasefire.
“That offer is now on the table,” Biden said during a White House briefing.
The proposal comes as Israel grows increasingly isolated from some of its strongest allies and the wider international community over its ongoing attacks on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, which have killed civilians and continued in spite of an order from the United Nations’ top court to stand down.
Biden said he recognizes there are some in Israel who want to see the war continue “indefinitely,” but said Hamas is no longer capable of leading another attack like the surprise assault on Oct. 7 after nearly eight months of war. Further conflict, he said, will drain Israel’s economy and harm its international standing.
“I’ve urged leadership in Israel to stand behind this deal, despite whatever pressure comes,” Biden said.
“It is time for this war to end,.”
The international community is growing more critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza after accusations of genocide, talk of arrest warrants and airstrikes that killed civilians in Rafah. Andrew Chang breaks down the global shift in stance, and how Israel is responding to the pressure.
3-phase proposal
Biden said the proposed deal, if Hamas accepts it, would play out in three stages.
Phase 1 would immediately bring a “complete ceasefire” in the war, with Israeli forces withdrawing fully from Gaza. A number of hostages, including women, children, the elderly and the wounded, would be released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Aid deliveries to the devastated enclave would “surge” to 600 trucks per day, Biden said.
During the second phase, Hamas and Israel would negotiate terms of a permanent end to hostilities. All remaining hostages, including men and soldiers, would also be released.
“The ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue,” Biden said.
During Phase 3, reconstruction plans would begin in Gaza and the remains of any hostages who were killed would be returned to their families.
Biden said Qatar had relayed the proposal to Hamas.
- Just Asking wants to know: What questions do you have about the possibility of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas at this point in the war? What would you like to know about the role of the international community in peace negotiations? Fill out the details on this form and send us your questions ahead of our show on June 1.
A hostage proposal put forward earlier this year called for the release of sick, elderly and wounded hostages in Gaza in exchange for a six-week ceasefire that could be extended to allow for more humanitarian aid to be delivered into the enclave.
The proposed deal fell apart earlier this month after Israel refused to agree to a permanent end to the war as part of the negotiations and ramped up an assault on Rafah.
Hamas said on Thursday it had told mediators it would not take part in more negotiations during ongoing aggression, but was ready for a “complete agreement,” including an exchange of hostages and prisoners if Israel stopped the war.
Israel presses forward in Gaza
On the ground in Gaza, Israeli forces said they had ended combat operations in the Jabalia area of north Gaza on Friday after destroying more than 10 kilometres of tunnels during days of intense fighting that included over 200 airstrikes.
During the operation, troops recovered the bodies of seven of the hostages, the military said, without elaborating on their identities.
Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people when they stormed over the border into Israel on Oct. 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people, according to Israeli government tallies. About 120 people remain unaccounted for.
Over 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and land war since then in Gaza, according to health officials there, and much of the densely populated enclave lies in ruins.
Front Burner26:49When Israel investigates itself, what happens?
Rafah, the only major city in Gaza yet to have been taken by Israeli forces, had been a refuge for more than one million Palestinians driven from their homes by fighting in other areas of the small coastal enclave, but most have now left after being told to evacuate ahead of the Israeli operation.
Hundreds of thousands are now living in tents and other temporary shelters in a special evacuation zone in nearby Al-Mawasi, a sandy, palm tree-dotted district on the coast, as well as areas in central Gaza.
Israel has signalled for weeks that it intended to mount an assault on the remaining Hamas battalions in Rafah, drawing international condemnation and warnings even from allies like the United States not to attack the city while it remained full of displaced people.
The risks were underlined on Sunday when an Israeli airstrike targeting two Hamas commanders outside the city set off a blaze that killed at least 45 people sheltering in tents next to the compound hit by the jets.
As the war has dragged on and Gaza’s infrastructure has been widely demolished, malnutrition has spread among the 2.3 million population as aid deliveries have slowed to a trickle, and the United Nations has warned of incipient famine.
Published at Fri, 31 May 2024 13:23:06 +0000