WINDOW AT RAFAH GATE — Global Affairs officials are “extremely hopeful” the border crossing from Gaza Strip to Egypt will open up, allowing trapped Canadians the chance to exit as tensions between Israel and Hamas rise. But when the chance comes up, the window to leave will be short. Assistant Deputy Minister JULIE SUNDAY voiced this concern during a weekend press briefing dealing with the ongoing war and the government’s efforts to evacuate Canadians from the conflict zone. It came after talks failed to secure safe passage for Canadians during a short window of possibility on Saturday. Global Affairs has said it is trying to get 300 people out of Gaza, where borders are sealed and access to essential goods including water and electricity have been cut off. Sunday called the situation at the Rafah gate border crossing “incredibly complex,” noting it involves Israel, Egypt, the U.S., the U.N. and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. “I can't speak to where the specific block was,” she said. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing Gaza as Israel prepares for an anticipated ground invasion. Foreign Minister MELANIE JOLYtold CBC’s ROSEMARY BARTON that she met Friday with Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister ELI COHEN, who confirmed to her that “Canadians in Gaza would have access to safe passage” to come back to Canada. “So, we have the commitment of Israeli authorities on this issue,” Joly said. Global Affairs is working on getting another 250 people out of the West Bank to Jordan, though that too could prove challenging. Officials confirmed the death of a fifth Canadian in Israel Sunday and another three missing following attacks by Hamas. — ‘Airbridge’ remains extended: Flights seven and eight went out of Israel Sunday, expected to bring the total number of Canadians evacuated from the conflict to more than 1,000, according to BOB AUCHTERLONIE, commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command. The flights are scheduled to continue with two out a day until there’s a better sense of changing demand for evacs. — POLITICO reports: U.S. President JOE BIDEN is ‘weighing’ a visit to Israel for show of solidarity. — In related listening: The Globe's MARK MACKINNON reports from the region on the latest episode of The Decibel. Over on CBC's Front Burner this morning, WaPo's ISHAAN THAROOR discusses where things could be headed next. — By the numbers: By GAC’s count, there are 6,806 Canadians registered in Israel, 460 in the West Bank and Gaza, and 14,399 in Lebanon. Sunday said Canadians should avoid travel to Lebanon and noted the department and the Canadian military have done a “lot of contingency planning” for the situation facing that country, which could be put into motion at any point. THE WEEK AHEAD — Before the Commons rose for its break week, the planned agenda in the House aimed squarely at affordability. The Liberal government wants to advance its “affordable housing and groceries act,” bill C-56, and its Canadian sustainable jobs bill, C-50. The oppo motions on notice, meanwhile, are classic bread-and-butter issues for the Conservatives: Ax the carbon tax and balance the budget. But the media spotlight will be elsewhere. This will mark the first time MPs will have the chance to speak in the House about the growing crisis in the Middle East since Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel. Early criticisms focused on the responsiveness of the embassy and speed at which Canada snapped into action on evacs, but now an evacuation is well underway. On the committee circuit, PROC’s study into foreign interference and the MICHAEL CHONG affair moves onto its next targets with a grilling of GAC’s (listed as DFAIT in a throwback) TARA DENHAM, from the office of human rights, freedoms and inclusion, along with MIKE MACDONALD, a senior ADM in the Treasury Board Secretariat’s office of the chief information officer. It’s also commissioner week, with a spate of appearances by Parliamentary watchdogs — including former ethics commish MARIO DION up to bat later today. Privacy Commissioner PHILIPPE DUFRESNE gets the chance on Thursday to outline his concerns in detail about Bill C-27 — the Liberal government’s major privacy and AI law. NEXT STEPS FOR ENVIRO LAW — It’s back to the drawing board, sorta, for the Liberal government now that the SCC has officially panned its environmental impact legislation. The court found parts of the law, which mandates reviews of major resource and infrastructure projects, to be unconstitutional for stepping on provincial rights. Natural Resources Minister JONATHAN WILKINSON says this will force Ottawa to amend the Impact Assessment Act in a “surgical way,” but the law itself will remain in place. Cabinet will have to reassure Liberal supporters it’s NBD, while Alberta Premier DANIELLE SMITH takes a victory lap. She said Ottawa should take this as a signal to butt out of provincial jurisdiction: “They cannot just drop new policy on our head and make us spend another six years going through the court to be told once again that they’ve been acting illegally.”HEATHER EXNER-PIROTwrites in the Globe: “It’s hard to see how the Liberal government’s proposed clean electricity regulations and oil and gas emissions cap, which is contentious on similar grounds, can now be seen as constitutional.” — The backstory: The bill came into force in 2019 after the Liberals campaigned on introducing tougher environmental oversight for major projects. It overhauled the environmental assessment process for projects on federal land and set out new steps for reviewing how they will bring social, cultural and economic impacts. Conservatives had attacked the legislation, calling it a death blow to future fossil fuel projects. | 
