Joly says Canada can’t change foreign policy based on NDP motion on Palestinian statehood
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Monday the federal government won’t base its foreign policy on a New Democrat motion that would officially recognize Palestinian statehood.
The minister’s comments came during debate in the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, hours ahead of a vote on the opposition day motion brought forward by the NDP’s foreign affairs critic.
The non-binding motion calls on the Canadian government to take a number of actions in response to the war in the Gaza Strip, including “officially” recognizing “the State of Palestine.”
“Of course there are issues with the motion that is presented by the NDP, and we can’t change foreign policy based on an opposition motion,” Joly said.
While responding to a question from Conservative MP Michael Chong, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said there are issues with the non-binding motion brought forward by the NDP that would officially recognize Palestinian statehood.
Israel launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023. The surprise assault left some 1,200 people dead in Israel and saw hundreds of hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israeli numbers.
Gaza health officials said that as of last week, Israel’s military campaign had killed more than 31,000 people and displaced nearly two million more.
Calling the NDP motion important “but not without its faults,” Joly said Canada wants a deal to secure the release of the hostages being held by Hamas, a humanitarian ceasefire and a way to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches Gaza.
She did not detail the “faults” and “issues” she sees in the NDP motion.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong said Conservatives are in favour of a two-state solution but that can’t be accomplished through a “unilateral declaration in the House of Commons.”
“It can only be achieved through a long, arduous process that will take months, if not years, of negotiations between the two parties at hand, the state of Israel and representatives of the Palestinian people,” he said, adding that Palestinian representatives would need to have popular support and renounce violence and terrorism.
Liberal MP for Scarborough Centre Salma Zahid urged her colleagues to vote in favour of the motion, saying Canadians are demanding action.
“Either we stand for human rights everywhere and for everyone, or we don’t,” she said. “Let’s be able to tell our next generation we were on the right side of history.”
Asked by Bloc Québécois MP Luc Desilets about the Liberals’ position on the motion, NDP MP for London-Fanshaw Lindsay Mathyssen said she and members of her community are “frustrated” that the government “seems to want to be able to take two sides on this” conflict.
“Ultimately, violence has to stop before conversations can begin,” Mathyssen said.
Liberal MP for Mount Royal Anthony Housefather, who has been a vocal critic of the motion, said the motion would create “a false equivalency between the state of Israel and the terrorist organization of Hamas.”
