The news of Israeli strikes in Lebanon has shocked the federal Liberal MP for Laval–Les Îles, Fayçal El-Khoury, who delivered a passionate plea on Wednesday for his own government to try to avoid a new war.
“I ask our government to stand up for Canadian values, for human rights, to do everything within its means [auprès de la communauté internationale] to stop the war, [et] “not just a ceasefire,” said the Quebec elected official of Lebanese origin in English.
Fayçal El-Khoury was particularly shocked by the testimonies of Lebanese people who suffered serious eye injuries after the simultaneous explosion of pagers, a prelude to Israeli bombings in the country which left around 600 dead and 2,000 injured, according to the most recent estimates.
“If the war continues, and does not stop, it could lead to a regional war, and perhaps an international war. And everyone will pay the price,” he warns.
The Liberal MP said he had the opportunity to share his concerns with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and directly with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a phone call. He reported asking his leader to “make a statement to stop the war immediately to protect innocent victims.”
Justin Trudeau arrived in Ottawa on Wednesday morning, after a trip to New York where he addressed the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly is scheduled to speak to the media early Wednesday afternoon.
Fayçal El-Khoury and a few other Liberal MPs indicated Wednesday that they support the repatriation of the thousands of Canadians currently in Lebanon. So far, Ottawa has instead multiplied calls for them to leave the country on their own while there is still time.
Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet said Wednesday that he believes Canada is doing “the right thing” by asking for the Canadians to return.
Palestine still relevant
The second week of the fall parliamentary session in Ottawa was marked by heated debates in Parliament over the escalating conflict in the Middle East. On Monday, the New Democratic Party (NDP) sent a letter to Minister Joly calling on her government to recognize the State of Palestine and impose sanctions “on Israeli leaders responsible for the genocide in Gaza.”
On Tuesday, a meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development provoked the anger of the Conservative Party of Canada after the tabling of a Liberal motion that proposed, among other things, “supporting the recognition of a viable and independent State of Palestine.” This idea received support from the Bloc Québécois and the NDP.
Since Canada supports a two-state solution, Liberal MP Rob Oliphant reasons, “it takes two states to make that happen.” The role of the parliamentary committee, he says, is to make recommendations to the government on the right time to recognize Palestine.
Conservative MP Michael Chong said such recognition runs counter to the traditional position of the Canadian government, whether led by the Liberals or the Conservatives, which is to recognize the Palestinian state only through a process of negotiation with Israel. In May, Canada abstained from voting to include Palestine in the United Nations (UN).
Bloc Québécois MP Stéphane Bergeron took the floor to ask “why has Canada remained silent for so many years about the aggression, the occupation, the oppression that the Palestinians have suffered since 1967? This occupation is illegal.” He lamented that Canada no longer has the “courage” and “audacity” that it demonstrated when it denounced apartheid in South Africa.
More details will follow.