QUESTION PERIOD — Global Affairs
Israel-Hamas Conflict
December 11, 2023
As per my statement, my question relates to what is going on in Gaza.
For too long, the sexualized, gender-based crimes against Israelis, mostly women, have not been condemned by UN Women. Last Monday, however, they spoke about the need for a full investigation so that perpetrators on all sides can be held accountable and justice can be served. Reports from Israel this week confirm that fighting in Gaza is the most intense it has been since the start of the Israeli ground offensive. Human Rights Watch notes that “Since October 7, one child in Gaza has been killed every 10 minutes on average.” We know that UN Secretary-General Guterres has invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter and that the death toll of Palestinians, mostly women and children, is climbing past 18,000.
Out of concern for human civilization, when will Canada call for a ceasefire?
Again, thank you for your question. The toll of this war is tragic. Every human life is precious. Whatever your tradition, religious or otherwise, nobody deserves to be the victim of a war, much less the deliberate and brutal violence that you began your question by noting.
Canada is working with its democratic allies, notably the United States and the European Union, to do what it can to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, to work with, in this case, Israel, to ensure that Israel is doing everything that it can do to minimize the inevitable collateral — that’s a terrible word — inevitable damage that prosecuting a war in an area like that is, and it will continue to do so because that’s deeply part of what the Canadian position will always be.
Senator Gold, we appreciate your answers. We know that you receive directions as to what you can say in response. But is Canada considering alternatives to what is being called pauses? Can there not be some greater action taken on the part of Canada to actually bring an end to this devastation and go to the point of supporting negotiations for peace?
I represent the government. So when I stand here, I do represent the government position, which is different from taking directions. Let us be clear about that.
Canada has always supported peace in the Middle East. It has supported the two-state solution from day one, quite frankly. When the State of Israel was founded, there was a two-state solution on the table that was rejected by all surrounding neighbours. Canada will continue to support that approach even though right now, at least as far as Hamas is going, there is no interlocutor for peace.
