The tone towards the Israeli government is gradually rising in Ottawa, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau maintains his position. In a long statement lasting around ten minutes on Wednesday morning, the Canadian Prime Minister once again called for a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip – this time specifying that it must be “significant”.
“This pause must allow us to send real and substantial aid to help this abominable humanitarian crisis for civilians in Gaza,” he said.
At the time of his speech, a small gathering of pro-Palestinian protesters marched through the streets on Parliament Hill, demanding a government call for a ceasefire. On Tuesday, a group of several humanitarian organizations also made this request. Despite pressure from these groups and many federal MPs, Prime Minister Trudeau has continued to advocate “humanitarian pauses” in recent weeks.
The humanitarian pause requested by the government is also considered insufficient by the leader of the Bloc Québécois (BQ) Yves-François Blanchet, who joined the ranks of the New Democratic Party (NDP) to call for a ceasefire on Wednesday. The Bloc has until now said it was in favor of a “humanitarian truce”, but now judges that the “obstinate refusals” of the Israeli government to stop the bombings require more concrete measures.
“The words “humanitarian truce” […], I believe we need to go beyond that. I believe that this is behind the reality that we observe in the Gaza Strip, that the tone must be raised and that the consideration of more concrete measures to save human lives must be initiated as quickly as possible,” declared the leader in a press briefing in the presence of all his deputies.
“I therefore invite, on the one hand, the Prime Minister of Canada, of course, and Madame [Mélanie] Joly to think about this option very quickly,” added Mr. Blanchet.
During the question period on Wednesday, the leader of the Bloc challenged the Prime Minister, asking him if he could “consider that we have reached the point of asking for a ceasefire equipped with effective means of implementation.”
Justin Trudeau simply responded that the request for a humanitarian pause “to get the hostages and citizens out of Gaza and send humanitarian aid.”
The Bloc, the NDP and the Green Party of Canada are the only parties to position themselves in favor of a ceasefire. Around twenty Liberal MPs also expressed their request in this regard. For Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, the divisions within the Liberal caucus on the issue are after all normal. “This is a great strength of the Liberal Party, we represent everyone. We have discussions which are sometimes difficult, everyone has the right to take a position,” he said on Wednesday.
Criminal or not?
Faced with the “appalling” rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the country, Justin Trudeau also appealed for calm during his speech Wednesday morning.
“We have seen for too many days now a terrible rise in anti-Semitism, attacks on synagogues, hateful and targeted demonstrations on Jewish businesses, community centers, Jewish daycares. This is unacceptable,” he lamented.
“At the same time, the rise of Islamophobia in Canada, the attacks and intolerance, a recrimination of anyone who dares to show a Palestinian flag, that too is not who we are as Canadians,” he said. he added. He invited Canadians to remain united and “listen to each other better” in the context of the conflict which has been raging for more than a month now.
At the same time, the comments of Montreal imam Adil Charkaoui in support of Palestine caused several elected officials to react. The latter allegedly prayed to God to “take care” of Israelis during a demonstration. “God, take care of the aggressor Zionists. O God, make sure you leave none,” he said on October 31.
On Wednesday, Yves-François Blanchet did not hesitate to describe Mr. Charkaoui’s comments as “criminal”. The day before, Prime Minister François Legault was also indignant, affirming that this was “incitement to hatred and violence”.
Prime Minister Trudeau, however, avoided commenting on the criminality of Mr. Charkaoui’s speech.
The remarks made during the demonstration were cited in the House by the leader of the Bloc during the question period on Wednesday. “According to the Prime Minister, did the preacher Charkaoui commit a criminal act by uttering these words publicly? », Launched Mr. Blanchet.
“These words are unacceptable and anti-Semitic, an insult to the lives and hopes of millions of people around the world, including millions of people who perished during the Holocaust,” Mr. Trudeau responded.
Asked again about the criminal nature of Mr. Charkaoui’s statements, the Prime Minister simply replied that “there are people who say unacceptable things throughout the world, including in Canada.”
Earlier Wednesday morning, Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who is Jewish, said this “crossed the criminal line” and hoped for police intervention.
The Minister of Transport and lieutenant of Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, described these comments as “hateful and dangerous”.
In a video published on his Facebook page on Wednesday, Adil Charkaoui claimed to be the victim of a defamation campaign and “false accusations from the political class”.