The refusal of at least one conservative elected official was enough to defeat a motion calling for an end to operations in Rafah on Wednesday, which earned the Bloc Québécois a reprimand for not ensuring that there was a consensus in Ottawa on the issue.
“It is important to receive the agreement of each of the political parties” before attempting to table a motion by unanimous consent, rebuked the president of the commons, Greg Fergus. “It uses the House’s time more efficiently.” »
He was speaking to Bloc Québécois MP Stéphane Bergeron, himself exasperated at having been interrupted by a rebuff from the Conservative benches, eleven seconds after starting to read the motion he was trying to have unanimously adopted. in Parliament.
The Bloc Québécois devoted its questions to the Prime Minister on Wednesday to the theme of the conflict between Israel and Hamas raging in the Gaza Strip. He then tried to pass his motion asking in particular that the House be outraged by the recent Israeli strikes in Rafah.
The text, which could never be read in full, also proposed calling for an end to operations in Rafah, reiterating that there are no safe areas in Rafah for Palestinian civilians, in addition to demand respect for international law, an immediate ceasefire and the release of the hostages. The opposition of a single elected official was able to defeat the adoption of the text. It was not possible to know the identity or number of elected officials who opposed it.
However, the motion broadly reflected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s most recent statement on the issue on Tuesday. The Bloc Québécois claims to have had the approval of all the other parties in Ottawa to table this motion, with the exception of the Conservatives.
The office of the Liberal leader in the House confirmed that his ranks did not oppose it, while elected officials from the New Democratic Party (NDP) took part in a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Wednesday which demanded an end to the sending of arms to Israel.
Concerned about Israel’s actions
Questioned by the Bloc leader, Yves-François Blanchet, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, did not want to say what he thought of the idea of bringing in an international peacekeeping force in Gaza. The head of government reiterated that he was ready to recognize the State of Palestine at the appropriate time, and that he will “support the process” of international justice targeting Israel.
“We are very, very concerned by the violence in Gaza and by the devastating actions of the Israeli army in Rafah,” said Justin Trudeau.
At the National Assembly of Quebec, the Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie, Martine Biron, indicated that her government is “truly horrified by what is happening”, but does not consider that it is up to Quebec to recognize the Palestine as a country, as Québec Solidaire asks.
“I don’t think it’s our role to recognize or not the outcome of a negotiation that is not even underway. Let us hope that this negotiation takes place, that they arrive at a solution, and we will ultimately see whether we support it or not. But it’s not really up to us to decide that. »
Last week, the Israeli ambassador told the Duty that his country feels unfairly targeted when Canada insists on the importance of respecting international law in the armed conflict in Gaza.
The Conservative Party of Canada did not wish to specify which part of the motion posed a problem to it. In recent months, leader Pierre Poilievre has increased his declarations of support for Israel. His party notably condemned the actions of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This war began on October 7 with the brutal massacre and kidnapping of Israeli and Canadian civilians and can end as soon as Hamas frees the hostages, lays down its arms and surrenders unconditionally,” said the Hamas spokesperson. leader of the official opposition, Marion Isabeau-Ringuette, in a written statement sent to the Duty.