In the news today: Canada warns against ‘mass displacement’ of Palestinians from Gaza

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This article was published 04/01/2024 (996 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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

Israel’s peers warn against displacing Palestinians in Gaza to places like Canada

Countries that have traditionally aligned with Israel are warning the nation about trying to displace people living in the Gaza Strip.

Israel’s Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made comments this week that countries should be “encouraging migration” of Palestinians from Gaza, while adding that Israel should re-establish settlements in the Strip.

A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada will not condone the mass displacement of Palestinians.

Next week, Canada is expected to launch a temporary immigration program for the extended family members of Canadians who are trapped in the besieged territory.

Sentencing hearing set for London attacker today

A sentencing hearing is set to begin today for a man who killed four members of a Muslim family in London, Ont.

Nathaniel Veltman, 23, was found guilty in November of four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder for hitting the Afzaal family with his truck while they were out for a walk on June 6, 2021.

His trial was heard in Windsor, Ont., but the sentencing proceedings –including the delivering of victim impact statements – will be taking place in London, where the attack took place.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

‘No cause to mourn’ mother who murdered daughter, 8, girl’s father says

The British Columbia woman who smothered her eight-year-old daughter to death while she was sleeping in 2014 has died in correctional custody, and the father says it’s a relief.

Lisa Batstone lost an appeal against her conviction for the second-degree murder of her daughter Teagan in 2022, with the Appeal Court ruling that she never came to terms with the breakdown of her marriage and intended to kill herself and her daughter.

Gabe Batstone released a statement saying his ex-wife’s death will not erase the pain and loss of his daughter.

What’s in store for the Canadian economy in 2024

Deloitte Canada says the Canadian economy will return to growth in the second half of 2024, with interest rate cuts as early as this spring.

The firm’s economic outlook report predicts stagnant growth during the first half of the year as the effects of higher interest rates continue to work their way through the system.

The Bank of Canada held its key rate steady at five per cent in December after a heavy-handed hiking campaign to fight inflation.

Big pay for some Canadian green charity heads

A small group of leaders of Canadian charities in the environment, conservation, and animal protection sectors are taking home compensation packages equivalent to, and in some cases higher than, the salaries of provincial premiers.

An analysis by The Canadian Press identified 17 charities whose top executive drew annual compensation that was in the $200,000 to $250,000 range or higher, according to filings with the federal government made in 2022 and 2023.

The review focused on organizations recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency as registered charities in the categories of “environment” and “animal protection,” which include several conservation organizations. The group of 17 with the highest salaries represents just over one per cent of all charities in those two categories.

Time not right to stage play amid Gaza tensions, says Victoria, B.C., theatre

Tensions connected to the war between Israel and Hamas have prompted a British Columbia theatre company to cancel the scheduled run of a play set in the region.

Victoria’s Belfry Theatre says in a statement the timing isn’t right to stage The Runner by Canadian writer and actor Christopher Morris and it could “further tensions” in the community.

Morris’s one-person play, which had been scheduled as part of a festival in March, explores the reactions to an Israeli rescue volunteer’s decision to save a Palestinian woman accused of violence against a soldier from Israel.

The theatre says it booked the play last year to present a contemporary work that could generate dialogue, but after a period of difficult consideration the production has been cancelled.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2024.