(Ottawa) Canada continues to outline plans for a potential evacuation of its citizens in Lebanon, even though Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly recently warned that a government lifeline should not be expected if the conflict in the Middle East escalates.
About 30 members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) have been sent to the region to help the Canadian embassy in Lebanon with emergency planning, said Andrée-Anne Poulin, spokesperson for the Department of National Defence, on Wednesday.
The CAF “has established an operational liaison and reconnaissance team of approximately 30 personnel located in Cyprus and other key locations as required,” she added in a written statement.
Given “the volatility of the situation and the emergency planning underway,” the ministry did not want to provide further details. But that does not change the warnings that were reiterated very recently by Minister Joly, it is noted.
Nearly two weeks ago, Canada’s top diplomat once again urged Canadians in Lebanon to leave while “commercial options [étaient] still available” – a warning that has been issued many times in recent months.
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly
Because “if tensions worsen, the situation on the ground may not allow us to help you and you will not be able to leave,” Minister Joly insisted again in a message published on the X network a week later.
“There is never a guarantee that the Canadian government will evacuate Canadians in a crisis situation. Canadians should not rely on the Government of Canada for assisted departures or evacuations,” added Global Affairs Canada.
According to recent data from the ministry, there were nearly 22,000 people registered as Canadians in Lebanon. However, the number of Canadians there is likely to be significantly higher, most likely over 50,000, according to federal government estimates.
The warnings from the government have displeased NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. “I believe deeply that it is Canada’s responsibility to protect Canadian citizens, no matter where they are in the world,” he argued at a press briefing on July 26.
“So if there are people in a country where there is a threat, it is Canada’s responsibility to help them. So I reject the Liberal government’s approach of saying no in advance. That is not the right approach,” he continued.
Several countries on alert
Several capitals have called on their nationals to leave Lebanon in recent days, amid fears of a military escalation in the region, at a time when flights at Beirut international airport are being cancelled in droves.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah has been exchanging fire with the Israeli army on the border for months, in support of the Palestinians since the start of the war in Gaza. Regional tensions have increased since the assassination, a week ago, in Iran, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
With Agence France-Presse