Juno News - Israel peace deal reactions and India-Canada relations reset

00:00:00.000 Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative leader Pierre Polyev joined world leaders in

00:00:10.680 celebrating Hamas' release of Israeli hostages who had been held captive since October 7th,

00:00:17.380 two years ago. A Canadian think tank is warning the Liberal government that Canada works best

00:00:22.660 when the federal government doesn't overstep by making decisions outside of its, quote,

00:00:27.100 constitutional lane. Diplomatic relations between Canada and India seem to have been mending as the

00:00:34.180 Liberal's foreign affairs minister traveled to the country, with both parties agreeing to cooperate

00:00:40.000 more closely. Hello Canada, it's Wednesday, October 15th, and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm

00:00:46.740 Cosmin Georgia. And I'm Jeff Knight. We've got you covered with all the news you need to know. Let's

00:00:52.440 discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:01:00.620 Prime Minister Mark Carney joined world leaders on Monday in welcoming the release of hostages under

00:01:07.060 a U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, describing the development as a, quote,

00:01:14.760 fragile light of what might still be repaired after more than two years of war. The ceasefire negotiated by the

00:01:22.360 United States, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey has led to the release of 20 Israeli hostages and the freeing of

00:01:29.800 hundreds of Palestinian detainees. It marks the first phase of a multi-step plan aimed at ending the conflict and

00:01:38.040 establishing transitional governance in Gaza. Carney, attending the summit for peace in the Egyptian

00:01:44.440 resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, said the release of hostages was, quote, a moment of profound relief.

00:01:51.840 He called it a turning point towards, quote, a lasting peace, urging both sides to uphold their commitments

00:01:58.560 and ensure that humanitarian aid continues to flow freely into Gaza. Carney said in a statement, quote,

00:02:05.380 For the Jewish people, this is a moment that holds two truths at once, a grief for what cannot be

00:02:11.880 restored and a fragile light of what might still be repaired. We call on all parties to continue

00:02:17.660 implementing the terms of the ceasefire agreement, including maintaining the withdrawal of Israeli

00:02:23.800 troops and allowing sustained humanitarian assistance at scale into and throughout Gaza. In Canada,

00:02:31.160 conservative leader Pierre Polyev praised the peace deal and the release of hostages while expressing

00:02:37.040 condolences for those killed in captivity. Polyev said, quote, two years after Hamas' sadistic attack

00:02:44.460 on innocent Israelis, the families of 20 hostages are finally able to hug their loved ones. We thank

00:02:51.740 President Trump for his leadership negotiating a peaceful closure to this war and hope that it serves to

00:02:58.400 bring lasting generational peace. Just days earlier, Polyev expressed hope but noted Hamas must honor 0.96

00:03:05.600 the terms of the agreement. And first of all, let me congratulate President Trump on a historic

00:03:11.180 peace deal. This could be the beginning of a very beautiful, peaceful period in Middle East history.

00:03:20.280 Let's all hope it is. But it took his leadership, his diplomacy and his strategy in order to secure this deal

00:03:27.820 and it is up to Hamas now to respect its side, hand over all of the hostages and disarm itself,

00:03:38.260 stay behind the line and allow the peace to go forward. You know, we want Palestinians and Israelis

00:03:46.540 to live in peace, prosperity and harmony. And hopefully there's a very bright future for all of the

00:03:53.460 Abrahamic peoples who cherish the Holy Land. So Jeff, this is obviously a significant deal and development

00:04:01.340 in the Middle Eastern conflict that has engulfed the past two years. The world has been paying attention

00:04:09.540 and Donald Trump was able to negotiate and hammer out this deal with several Middle Eastern partners

00:04:17.980 like Egypt, Qatar, etc. also helping. So what happens next and is there a pathway to longer lasting peace

00:04:29.620 in Gaza? Well, Cosmin, what happens next in Gaza is a bit of a mixed bag, but the pathway to peace is

00:04:35.320 laid out in a few key steps from that U.S. brokered ceasefire agreement. First off, the release of those

00:04:40.440 20 Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian detainees is just the start of a multi-step plan.

00:04:45.940 The next phase involves Israel accepting a permanent ceasefire and Hamas releasing the

00:04:50.480 remaining living male hostages, both civilians and soldiers, in exchange for more Palestinian

00:04:55.180 prisoners. After that, the third stage is about releasing the remains of deceased Israeli hostages.

00:05:01.180 Alongside this, there's a plan for demilitarizing Gaza under independent monitors, which includes

00:05:06.300 decommissioning weapons and setting up an internationally funded reintegration program. The idea is to hand

00:05:11.940 over Gaza territory from the IDF to the Israeli security forces over time, with the security

00:05:16.740 perimeter remaining until Gaza is secure from any resurgent terror threats. There's also talk of an

00:05:21.800 interfaith dialogue to change mindsets and push for peaceful coexistence. If Hamas delays or rejects

00:05:27.320 the proposal, the plan still moves forward in terror-free areas. The goal is a prosperous Gaza committed to

00:05:32.600 peace, but it's a fragile process, and whether it holds depends on both sides honoring their commitments,

00:05:37.620 and the international community keeping the pressure on. It's going to be a long road, but this ceasefire

00:05:42.000 is the first step towards something that might actually last.

00:05:47.640 An economic think tank is calling on the federal government to remain in its constitutional lane

00:05:52.500 as a means to achieve optimal success and to keep regional unrest at bay. Livio Di Matteo,

00:05:58.260 a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study, said, quote,

00:06:02.200 quote, Ottawa's increasing intrusions into provincial areas of responsibility have led to

00:06:07.380 increased regional tensions and separatist threats in Quebec and western Canada. The evidence is clear.

00:06:13.080 The Canadian Federation works best and national unity is strongest when Ottawa and the provinces stay in

00:06:18.920 their own constitutional lanes. The study, published on Tuesday, aims to, quote,

00:06:23.880 keep the peace between federal-provincial relations. The researchers outlined the different

00:06:29.100 responsibilities between the two branches of government and reviewed conflicts throughout

00:06:33.180 history that stemmed from the federal government overstepping its boundaries. The study reads,

00:06:37.500 quote, while such intrusions may have been necessary during periods of national crisis,

00:06:42.460 experience tells us that Canada usually works best when the two levels of government stick to their

00:06:47.180 constitutional lanes. When Ottawa has extended its reach into provincial jurisdiction in the past,

00:06:52.460 it has often exacerbated political tensions, which then often pose a risk to national unity.

00:06:57.980 So, Cosmin, what are some of these examples of the federal government overstepping its

00:07:01.500 constitutional authority into provincial jurisdiction?

00:07:04.460 Well, with nine years of liberal government, while going on 10 years of liberal government,

00:07:10.460 there's a lot of examples to point to. And they're not just academic. Over the years, we've seen

00:07:16.540 concrete cases of Ottawa reaching past its lane, causing friction between provincial partners,

00:07:25.180 and straying into areas that were originally covered by provinces. So, a few examples. The Impact Assessment

00:07:33.180 Act is a major one, and that has been a sticking point for Alberta Premier Daniel Smith, who has called

00:07:40.300 it unconstitutional. And actually, the Supreme Court of Canada said the federal government went too far

00:07:47.820 with the Impact Assessment Act and its regulations, which essentially clamps down on the oil and gas

00:07:55.100 industry. The court ruled in that case that while the federal government has a role in environmental

00:08:01.420 protection throughout Canada, what they produced in the IAA as a bill tried to give Ottawa power over

00:08:11.100 projects that are entirely within provincial jurisdiction. So, they're trying to over-regulate, extend their

00:08:18.540 regulation beyond the limits imposed on them by the constitution. So, the court in that case also ruled

00:08:25.900 that the act was ultra-virus, which is outside Parliament's powers, not within its scope. So, this is a

00:08:33.740 real current example of Ottawa overreaching, at least in parts of this act, as it's been laid out by the court.

00:08:43.020 Other cases are, right now, we see Mark Carney trying to get his government to intervene

00:08:51.420 and ask the Supreme Court to weigh in on the notwithstanding clause. And there's been a lot of

00:08:58.140 discussion about this by people way more knowledgeable about this topic than I am. But essentially, historically,

00:09:06.300 one of the reasons that the provinces signed on to the charter was because of the notwithstanding act.

00:09:13.980 It was a requirement for them to do so, to agree to this spanning agreement that is the charter. So,

00:09:23.580 having the Supreme Court asking them to essentially limit the notwithstanding act threatens to break

00:09:31.500 up the fragile confederation that we've established. Canada and India have fully restored diplomatic

00:09:39.340 relations two years after a spat over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, with Minister

00:09:47.100 of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand meeting her Indian counterpart in New Delhi on Monday.

00:09:53.260 Anand's trip to India follows a prolonged cooling of relations between the two countries,

00:09:58.700 sparked by accusations surrounding India's alleged involvement in the assassination of a Sikh activist

00:10:05.980 on Canadian soil. The two countries released a joint statement outlining a, quote,

00:10:12.220 new roadmap for Canada-India relations, promising closer cooperation in trade, clean energy,

00:10:18.620 artificial intelligence, agriculture and critical minerals. Both governments said the effort reflects

00:10:25.420 mutual respect for shared democratic values, the rule of law and sovereignty, and will aim to restore

00:10:31.820 stability after years of tension. The roadmap includes plans to restart ministerial level trade and

00:10:38.460 investment talks, relaunch the Canada-India CEO Forum early next year, and reestablish the Ministerial

00:10:46.220 energy dialogue to promote cooperation in liquefied natural gas, green hydrogen, carbon capture and

00:10:53.340 nuclear energy. In a post on X, Anand said she and the minister had agreed on a, quote,

00:11:00.620 joint work plan to elevate the relationship, emphasizing law enforcement collaboration and economic

00:11:06.860 opportunities in energy trade and AI. The renewed engagement follows Prime Minister Mark Carney's

00:11:12.780 September meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Alberta,

00:11:20.060 where both leaders agreed to, quote, calibrated measures to rebuild trust and reappoint high commissioners.

00:11:26.540 So looking back over the past year or more, India was one of the two countries, including China,

00:11:35.020 singled out by name during Canada's foreign interference inquiries. But after two years of

00:11:41.740 tense relations between these two countries, how do Canadians feel about reforming ties with India and its government?

00:11:49.740 Yeah, Cosmin, Canadians are feeling pretty mixed about reforming ties with India after two years of tense relations,

00:11:56.220 especially since India was called out in Canada's foreign interference inquiries. According to a survey

00:12:01.260 by the Angus Reid Institute and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, released on October 13th,

00:12:07.340 51% of Canadians think it was the right move to restore relations, while 22% see it as the wrong one.

00:12:14.380 That's a two-for-one split in favour, but it's not unanimous. There's a lot of caution, too.

00:12:19.420 54% have an unfavourable view of India, and 59% think Canada should approach the relationship

00:12:25.420 with at least some caution, if not seeing India as a potential threat downright.

00:12:30.140 The survey also shows that priorities have shifted, with Canadians evenly split between wanting the

00:12:34.780 rule of law and trade opportunities to be the focus. So while there's a majority okay with the

00:12:41.580 restoration, there's still a significant chunk of people who are sceptical, especially given the

00:12:46.300 recent history and the ongoing concerns about India's actions. It's a step forward,

00:12:50.700 but it's not without its reservations.

00:12:55.260 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by

00:13:00.620 subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it,

00:13:05.740 make sure to hit us with a five-star rating, and please leave a review.

Juno News - October 15, 2025

Israel peace deal reactions and India-Canada relations reset

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