Commons committee to debate motion on quickest path to Palestinian statehood

MPs on the House of Commons foreign affairs committee are expected to resume a contentious debate later this morning on the quickest path for Canada to recognize a Palestinian state.

The text of the motion — first presented to a closed-doors session of the committee last Thursday by Liberal MPs — asks committee members to dedicate four sessions to studying the matter, sources told CBC News last week.

CBC News agreed not to identify the sources as they were not authorized to comment publicly on the matter.

The sources said last week that the Liberal MPs had secured support for the motion from the committee's NDP and Bloc Québécois members, but were prevented from putting the matter to a vote by Conservative MPs.

CBC News sought comment from committee members from multiple parties. They refused, citing the confidentiality of in-camera sessions.

NDP says no time left for debate

The NDP has been urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government to immediately recognize a Palestinian state.

«We are at a very dangerous moment in time for this. This is not a time when we need to have a study, this is not a time where we need to have further discussions,» NDP foreign affairs critic Heather McPherson told journalists at a news conference on Monday.

She said the Liberals could lose their chance to recognize a state of Palestine if they wait too long and are defeated in the next election by the Opposition Conservatives.

The House of Commons did pass a watered-down NDP motion last March that called on the government to work for «the establishment of the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-state solution.» The motion was supported by almost the entire Liberal caucus, while the Conservatives voted against it.

McPherson initiated