QUESTION PERIOD — Global Affairs
Conflict in Gaza Strip
November 5, 2024
Senator Gold, when I previously asked you what Canada was doing to stop the killing of civilians and children in Gaza, your reply was, in effect, that deaths of civilians are regrettable, Israel has the right to defend itself, and it is all the fault of Hamas anyway.
Since then, the Israeli government has killed thousands more innocent Palestinians, bombed hospitals and so-called safe zones and blocked humanitarian aid destined for Gaza, to name just a few of the horrors in the news.
When will the Government of Canada stop aiding and abetting violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza and sanction Israel for its actions?
Senator Woo, with the greatest of respect, your assumptions — and I’m not sure where you get them from — are incorrect.
Humanitarian aid continues to flow into Gaza, first and foremost. Second, Canada is a strong supporter both of Israel and the Palestinian people’s right to live in peace and security and will continue to advance those objectives, notwithstanding the challenges that are being faced.
I’m not aware of any plans of the government to issue sanctions, but once again, and with the greatest of respect, I find the assumptions in your questions — although expressed in terms that are very confident and, indeed, eloquent — are simply not correct.
The United States has made clear that it’s giving a 30-day warning to Israel to let humanitarian aid in, and it has recently said there has been limited progress. That is the basis of my evidence.
Senator Gold, a number of senators had the honour of meeting this afternoon with Francesca Albanese, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories. We learned from her that no one from the government has agreed to meet with her despite her many requests. Why is this government, which claims to uphold human rights and the rule of law, not willing to hear from a UN official who has arguably the most detailed understanding of historic human rights abusers in Palestine?
Wow. Let me quote to you what Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism Deborah Lyons said. This is the former Ambassador of Canada to Israel. She is horrified to see United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese engaged in Holocaust distortion and inversion. The Canadian mission in Geneva stated:
. . . The recent remarks by Francesca Albanese are unacceptable and incompatible with her duty of impartiality, probity and good faith as an independent Special Rapporteur. . . .
And I could go on further.
