(Quebec) Quebec’s diplomatic representative should settle in Israel for good in the coming months, the Minister of International Relations, Martine Biron, said Wednesday, as the conflict continues to rage in the Gaza Strip.
Last fall, however, she said that she wanted to wait until peace returned before the Quebec Office was fully functional.
But in a parliamentary committee on Wednesday morning, she indicated that “things have settled down” and that “the economy has recovered”, according to her.
“Doesn’t prudence require Quebec to freeze the deployment of the Office in Israel? » asked PQ MP Pascal Paradis.
“Not for political reasons”
“There is enormous potential” in Israel in terms of trade, argued Mr.me Biron, adding: “Our interests in Israel are economic, we are not in Israel for political reasons. »
MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, from Québec solidaire (QS), recalled that Israel faces serious accusations.
He wanted to know if there were “red lines” that should not be crossed when judging whether a country can host a diplomatic representation from Quebec: for example, would Syria, which bombed its population with sarin gas, have been able to accommodate a Quebec Office?
“In a context where a country is targeted by the International Court of Justice as plausibly committing […] a risk of genocide, yes or no, should Quebec keep its Office open? »
“It’s plausible, but it’s not clear-cut and it’s not a fact,” replied Mme Biron.
Remember that the CAQ government has been mired in an imbroglio since the announcement in August of the opening of a Quebec office in Tel Aviv, just before the Hamas attacks in Israel on October 7.
The official opening had to be delayed until September 18, subsequently the head of post took office, but worked from Montreal, then he carried out a one-month mission in February-March, while Mme Biron nevertheless affirmed that he fulfilled his mandate from Montreal.
On Wednesday, the minister suggested that the head of post would return to Israel this spring, but should settle there during next summer.
“If it is possible, this summer, it would settle permanently, obviously security is an issue,” she said in a press scrum after her hearing.
The head of the Quebec post is installed in the Canadian embassy, therefore in a secure environment, said the minister.
“As long as the Canadian embassy is operational, I think he can settle in.” »
For his part, Pascal Paradis argued that the deployment of the Office should be suspended, “while the armed conflict rages and there are tens of thousands of civilian victims”.
He wondered how the minister could plan “a deployment date on the ground” in such a context.