Recently, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada could potentially recognize Palestine’s statehood at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in September, if certain conditions were met. The expected commitments include a democratic election in 2026, demilitarization of Gaza, and the enactment of other democratic reforms by the Palestinian Authority. 

While a significant moment on the surface, it's important to contextualize that many other countries, including France, Ireland, Norway, and Spain, have already made such promises without any associated commitments required from Palestine. Such demands by the Canadian government infringe upon the Palestinian people’s self-determination.

This symbolic gesture must also be seen alongside other troubling developments that have been recently announced, including Bill C-2, the so-called Strong Borders Act. This omnibus legislation significantly restricts asylum access making those in Canada over a year ineligible for hearings and grants sweeping powers to suspend immigration documents, share personal data between agencies, and enhance surveillance. Advocates warn these measures undermine civil liberties, refugee protections, and Canada’s obligations under international law

Taken together: conditional recognition of Palestine, ongoing support for Israeli state violence, and harsh new immigration laws all reveal the government’s willingness to prioritize state control over human rights.

Without any substantive policy changes, this public shift is a seemingly empty symbolic gesture that serves to distract from the material investments that the government continues to supply Israel with. With the recognition of Palestinian statehood and the ongoing genocide, we need to continue to demand the necessary defunding and disarming of Israel. 

For the past years, students across Canada have been protesting in support of Palestine, condemning the Canadian government's compliance with Israel’s genocide, and have been subject to retaliatory violence, both physical, legal, and academic. Students have been proven once again to be on the right side of history, holding nationalist imperialist governments accountable. The Canadian Federation of Students demands more than colonial empty gestures and calls for an immediate material divestment from Israel, an end to complicity in human rights violations, and an immigration and refugee system grounded in justice, not control.