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Liberal member of Parliament Salma Zahid arrives at a caucus meeting on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023. Zahid was one of a group of Liberal MPs who signed a letter to the prime minister calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press - image credit)

Within any group of 150 people there are bound to be differing views on the current conflict in the Middle East. Even the averageindividual is likely to haveconflicting feelings about the unfolding war between Israel and Hamas about the need to respond to the atrocities committed against innocent civilians and about the deaths of innocent civilians caught up in the response.

So it's not at all surprising that there are 23 people (at least) in the Liberal caucus who would like Canada to officially call for a ceasefire. It would be more surprising if there were absolutely no disagreements among the 158 Liberal MPs on such a fraught and serious matter.

Perhaps the only surprising thing is that those Liberals along with eight NDP MPs and two Green MPs were willing to state their opinions publicly. Such expressions of dissent are still rare in Canadian politics (in partbecause such differences of opinion are invariably reported using terms like "rift").

But that lack of individual expression from party members is something commentators lament on a regular basis. And while war tends to crowd out complexity ("Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" that's how George W. Bush saw itin 2001 at the start of the "war on terror"),there are few subjects more deserving of scrutiny and a good-faith debate.

Liberals aren't the only oneswrestling with this war

Andthe Liberal Party isn't the only democraticpolitical entity airingthese internal disagreements publicly.

In the U.S., Democratic Party unity was already said to be "cracking" a week ago. The Labour Party in the United Kingdom is reported to be "deeply divided."The Labor government in Australia is said to be dealing with "deep division." A "mutiny" was even said tobrewing within the U.S. State Department a senior official publicly quit his job because of his misgivings about the official American response.

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Even Canadian political leaders who aren't calling for a ceasefireseemaware of the broad concerns; they've been emphasizing the importance of international law and expressing concernsaboutthe humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.

The United Statesreportedlyhas advised Israel to delay a ground invasion, in part because very little humanitarian aid has so far reached the area. And the Trudeau government has now joined those calling for "humanitarian pauses" in hostilities to allow for more aid deliveries.

In their letter to the prime minister last week, the 33 MPs saidthat "as Members of Parliament and as Canadians, we have a duty to be the voice of our constituents in Ottawa." It stands to reason that many of the MPs who signed the letterare reflecting what they've heard in phone calls, letters and community meetings.

Emergency services extinguish a fire as Palestinians search for casualties at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 24, 2023. (Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters)

"I have been on the phone constantly since this crisis began, with my constituents and with my friends and neighbours in the Palestinian [and] broader Muslim community, the Arab community, and they all have been hurting," Liberal MP Salma Zahid told Power & Politics last week.

"I have spoken to the people who have lost family members in Gaza and who have family members who are still trapped there."

Publicly available polling data is scarce right now butit seems fair to assume these 33 MPs are representing real concernssincerely held by significant portions of the Canadian public.

People are dying and suffering. Regardless of where you place the blame for that, the basic and brutal reality is undeniable.

What would a ceasefire accomplish?

But there are stillquestions to be asked about the utility or logic of what these 33 MPs are requesting. A ceasefire presumably would end the bloodshed, at least briefly. But what then? How would the threat of Hamas be eliminated?

"If Israel were to simply lay down its arms, it remains at risk of seeing further damage done at the hands of Hamas," Liberal MP Ben Carr said on Power & Politics on Monday, explaining why he disagreed with his fellow Liberals, even while he shares their ultimate desire for peace.

Mourners grieve during the funeral of David Carroll, who was killed by Palestinian Hamas militants on October 7, during his funeral in Revivim in southern Israel on October 22, 2023. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

But it'sequally fair to questionthe strategic vision and goals of the military campaign currently being waged against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. Even Israel's closest ally is reportedly asking those questions right now.

"When a lot of civilians (many of them children) are going to die in a conflict, that fact imparts a certain responsibility to think things through carefully and specifically to think through the question of how things are going to be better at the end of the conflict than they are now," Benjamin Wittes, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote last week.

Rudyard Griffiths, co-founder and chair of the Munk Debates, has argued that the world is much quicker to worry about civilian casualties whenIsrael is the onewaging war. But even if that's true, such an inconsistency would really only make the case for being more concerned about the deaths of innocent civilians in all conflicts.

The value of debate

In the immediate term, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government seems unlikely to call for a ceasefire. Foreign Affairs Minister Mlanie Joly sidestepped questions about the MPs' letter on Monday and Defence Minister Bill Blairdismissed the utility of a ceasefire on Tuesday. But concern for civilians caught in the crossfire is unlikely to abate especially asIsrael proceeds with the sort of ground invasion that's likely to result in even more "collateral damage."

The loss of life is conceivably not just a moral concern, but also a strategic one the higher the death toll, the likelier this conflict is to inflame public opinion in the region and erode support for Israel.

Armed men from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, participate in a military parade in Gaza City. ( Yousef Masoud/Majority World/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Calls for a ceasefire, whatever their merits, at least put theonus on the combatants to justify their actions. Last week's letter from MPs puts pressure on the Trudeau government to emphasize humanitarian concerns in both its words and its actions.

In its public statements and private conversations, Canadian officials can put pressure on all relevant parties to facilitate the delivery of aid to the Gaza Strip. The federalgovernment can continue increasing its own contribution to the humanitarian effort an additional $50 million for aid was announced on Saturday.

That might not appease those who signed thatletter. Others will still find their demands simplistic. But if the first casualties of war are often complexity and humanity, there is much to be said for a national debate that reflects all the complex and human things Canadians are feeling right now.

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Liberal MPs are conflicted about the Israel-Hamas war, and they're far from alone - Yahoo News Canada

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People distribute food to people at a makeshift camp for displaced people in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on Oct. 25, as battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement continue.MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images

Some Liberal MPs are continuing to demand a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel, saying Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus call for temporary pauses in the fighting is not a strong enough stance against the escalating violence.

The Prime Minister has openly acknowledged divisions in his partys caucus over the war that broke out when Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7. Those divisions burst into public view last week, when 23 Liberal MPs signed a letter asking Mr. Trudeau to call for a ceasefire in the conflict.

The government has resisted internal pressure to take a harder stance on Israel, but on Tuesday the Prime Minister said he supports humanitarian pauses, which are shorter and narrower in scope than ceasefires.

On Wednesday, Mr. Trudeau explained that the goals of the pauses would be to allow aid to enter the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, ensure hostages taken by Hamas can be released, and allow foreign nationals to leave the besieged Palestinian enclave.

But we recognize that Israel has the right to defend itself, must do so in accordance with humanitarian law, international law, and we continue to monitor this, Mr. Trudeau said.

The Liberal who spearheaded the creation of the letter, Ontario MP Salma Zahid, said Wednesday that humanitarian pauses fall short of what is needed, considering the scale of the civilian deaths reported in Gaza. She said two of her friends have each lost more than a dozen family members there.

Reports of use of white phosphorus in attacks in Lebanon increase tensions in an already strained situation

We have to call for a total peace. Its important that we make sure that we save the lives of the innocent civilians, she said.

On Wednesday, Sukh Dhaliwal, a British Columbia Liberal MP who did not sign the letter, added his name to the list of those calling for a ceasefire.

I personally think that humanitarian aid should be there and a ceasefire should be there, he said in brief comments to reporters on his way into the weekly Liberal caucus meeting.

The United States and Britain have also supported humanitarian pauses. The Israeli Embassy in Ottawa has not yet commented on Canadas call for such a break in fighting.

According to the United Nations, a humanitarian pause refers to a temporary stop in hostilities, only for humanitarian purposes. The international organization says such a pause has to be agreed to by all parties, occur over a limited period of time and cover a defined geographic area.

Other members of the Liberal caucus expressed opposition to a ceasefire on Wednesday. Such a measure would make Israel vulnerable to Hamas, Ontario Liberal MP Robert Oliphant said. A pause will allow them to maintain readiness but also ensure that aid will be delivered, he said.

Immigration Minister says Palestinians will not be sent back to Gaza if visas expire

But Mr. Oliphant, who is also the parliamentary secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister, said he has no confidence Hamas, which Canada has designated a terrorist group, would respect a humanitarian pause.

Manitoba Liberal MP Ben Carr said he is still reviewing the governments new stance. He said any pause in the fighting shouldnt detract from Israels right to defend itself.

If we have opportunities that allow Israel to continue to defend itself, and [in] particular to ensure the release of its hostages safely, while at the same time ensuring the protection of life in Gaza, absolutely Im supportive of it, he said.

He added that differences of opinion are expected in caucus. But, he said, This one happens to be more personal.

Some MPs have direct ties to the region, and many of them are receiving feedback from their constituents that differs widely depending on the riding they represent, Ontario Liberal MP Chris Bittle said.

Im hearing a lot more from the pro-Palestinian side of it, but I have colleagues for whom its the exact opposite, he explained.

He said he supports the governments position in the conflict, and the call for humanitarian pauses.

Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather told reporters he doesnt agree with his colleagues who are calling for a ceasefire. He said he supports a call from Defence Minister Bill Blair on Tuesday for Hamas to be eliminated.

He said the Liberals need to keep lines of communication open and acknowledge there are divergent voices in the party.

We have people with strong views on opposite sides and we can still talk to each other, and thats what Canadians need right now, Mr. Housefather said.

Read more from the original source:
Liberals remain divided after Trudeau's call for 'humanitarian pauses ... - The Globe and Mail

By J. Peder Zane Real Clear Wire

Hamas savage pogrom in Israel revealed the moral abyss at the core of Americas left and the cowardice of traditional liberals who enable them.

The highly coordinated war crimes the murder, rape, and torture of civilians were clear to the eyes of the world on that dark day because the butchers gleefully posted videos of their inhumanity.

Oct. 7 appears to have been the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust.

As has been widely reported, this barbarity gave no pause to many leftists, especially those at top schools, who almost immediately issued statements blaming Israel for the violence. Some grotesquely celebrated the carnage.

These statements were soon followed by messages from several university presidents among others who refused to confront and denounce this evil. Corporate leaders who rushed to denounce the 2017 clashes in Charlottesville and George Floyds death while in police custody in 2020 largely remained silent.

Yes, there have been some signs of a pullback in recent days, but that is merely a cowardly response to the backlash against the shameful defense of monstrous acts. One doesnt need to reject the complexities of the Middle East or even support Israels reprisals to acknowledge that the events of Oct. 7 were indefensible.

And yet, they were defended and diminished by many members of Americas elite, including students who will likely be running our country one day. The same crowd that has insisted that words are weapons and silence is violence, who have used cancel culture to destroy those who say things they dislike, is now saying hey, genocide happens; its complicated.

One hopes the rebarbative response to this savagery will spark a Bud Light Moment for liberals who have made a devils bargain with the left, bowing to its illiberal intentions because of their shame regarding Americas past and their fears of Donald Trump.

This has come at a heavy price. During the last decade liberals have allowed the left to overtake much of the cultural landscape it long dominated: our schools, our media, and much of our politics. They have surrendered the hallmarks of their worldview a generally open-minded understanding that our democracy is a mix of high-minded principles and pragmatic accommodations, which most always acknowledge human frailty to protect the nation from the perils of hubris.

Instead, they have empowered the left, which along with some extreme, but far weaker fringes of the right rejects that tradition. It advances an ideology that, convinced of its absolute righteousness, is largely unaffected by human experience. Never let reality impede your vision.

One of its galvanizing assumptions divides the world into two groups: the oppressors and the oppressed. Expressions of this include the recent rise of concepts such as white privilege, systemic racism, and queer theory. This racialized ideology holds that the oppressed are entitled to fight their alleged oppressors by any means necessary.

We see this, for example, in our daily news coverage where the alleged crimes of the oppressors are cast as grave threats to the Republic, and those committed by the oppressed are acts of rebellion seeking justice or are excused as proof of the degradations imposed by the ruling class.

Such thinking is unspeakably dangerous. As it excuses the behavior of some, it denies the humanity of others. This was the dynamic at work on Oct. 7. Like the Hamas terrorists they celebrated, many on the American left did not see the slaughtered Israelis as human beings but as obstacles to their aims. It is the same ideology that informed the Soviet Union, the Communist Chinese, and the perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda.

At a time when Americans blithely call each other Nazis, Hamas action was a continuation of Hitlers final solution. And many of our fellow citizens applauded it.

The hard left will never change. It doesnt really want democracy to succeed and is too invested in its ideology. As the physicist Max Planck observed in a different context, science advances one funeral at a time because true believers are loath to surrender ideas they have spent their lives advancing.

There is still some hope, however, for liberals, whose traditional values are so at odds with those of their leftist allies. Oct. 7 held up a mirror. Will liberals respond to the horrors that all can see? Will they fight back and reclaim their place in our politics and culture? Or will they continue to surrender their humanity, our country, and the world? It is their time for choosing.

J. Peder Zane is a RealClearInvestigations editor and columnist. He previously worked as a book review editor and book columnist for the News & Observer (Raleigh), where his writing won several national honors. Zane has also worked at the New York Times and taught writing at Duke University and Saint Augustines University.

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Oct. 7 presents American liberals with a time for choosing - The Highland County Press

1 day ago

October 24, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORONTO Ahead of the Ontario Liberals leadership debate in Toronto, the Ontario PC Party released the following statement:

After two straight elections of failing to win official party status, the leaderless Liberals are doubling down on sayingNO. No to building homes and key infrastructure. No to keeping costs down. No to building a stronger economy with better jobs and bigger paycheques.

Bonnie Crombie has abandoned her city as mayor and missed critical votes to build more homes. Her record on building homes is abysmal. She saidNOat every turn, and now Mississauga is failing to build its fair share of homes.

Yasir Naqvi wants to continue the Wynne Liberals legacy of sayingNOto good-paying jobs, as he advocates for higher taxes, fewer jobs, smaller paycheques, and less opportunities for workers and their families.

Nate Erskine-Smith is sayingNOto public safety and will roll back our governments efforts to support our police services and put more boots on the ground, putting the safety of our communities at further risk.

Ted Hsu is sayingNOto nuclear power, risking blackouts and brownouts and putting his own ideology over the wellbeing of Ontario families.

These Liberal candidates can agree on one thing. Theyll keep sayingNOto keeping costs down by imposing a carbon tax that makes everything more expensivewhich every single leadership candidate supports.

Lets be clear: Its not whether they support a carbon tax, but how high they would make it.

Ontario cant afford another harmful NDP-Liberal coalition.

Under their watch, they chased away 300,000 good-paying manufacturing jobs, levied a painful carbon tax, closed 600 schools, and built less than 700 long-term care beds across the entire province.

Only our Ontario PC team will continue to get it done by building highways and transit, cutting red tape and lowering taxes that have helped businesses create 700,000 new jobs and counting, and keeping costs down for families across the province.

-30-

Media Inquiries:

Zachary Zarnett-Klein

Director of Communications, Ontario PC Party

[emailprotected]

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Leaderless Liberals Vow to Turn the Clock Back to Costly and ... - PC Party of Ontario

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Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 16.PATRICK DOYLE/The Canadian Press

A federal election could be two years away, but Pierre Poilievre is already in campaign mode, targeting ridings held by the Liberals and the NDP as the Conservatives set their sights on forming government.

Mr. Poilievre will hold two Axe the Tax rallies against carbon pricing in Atlantic Canada this week in Windsor, N.S., on Thursday and St. Johns on Friday. He is also expected to focus on the high cost of living and housing, priority issues for the party this fall.

The Conservatives are going full tilt, said Fred Delorey, a partner at NorthStar Public Affairs who served as national campaign manager for the Conservative Party in 2021.

They have the money; theyre awash in cash, he said. They have the momentum and theyre running a full campaign where Poilievre, his message, is resonating with Canadians. So hes out pushing it hard.

The Conservatives have been leading in a number of recent public-opinion polls. The party also raised nearly $8-million in donations from almost 47,000 contributors between April and June. By comparison, the Liberals raised about $3.2-million from more than 30,000 people in that period.

Scott Reid, who served as director of communications for former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin, said the Conservatives are going into ridings they do not hold because they believe that voters in the next election will be interested in change, with the Liberals having been in power since 2015.

Robert Staley, chair of the Conservatives fundraising arm, shed some light on the partys thinking about Mr. Poilievres tour during its policy convention last month.

Our tour is not directed at bringing out the faithful to [the] leaders rallies although we are delighted when the faithful attend and fill a room, Mr. Staley said.

With our leaders tour, we are now trying to reach new voters with Pierres common-sense messages. That means doing more to advertise events and to reach people who otherwise wouldnt have supported the party or havent in the past supported the party.

Spokespeople for Mr. Poilievre and the party did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this month, Mr. Poilievre held a rally in the Vancouver Centre riding that Liberal Hedy Fry has held since 1993, and where the Conservatives came third in the 2021 election.

Ms. Fry, who is planning to run for an 11th term in the next election, was dismissive of Mr. Poilievres efforts.

I dont think people in a riding like mine and in many of the ridings in Vancouver, which are very progressive ridings, think the Conservatives have anything to offer them, she said in an interview. Vancouver Centre, she said, is very fallow ground for Conservatives of his ilk.

A month before the Oct. 13 rally in Vancouver, Mr. Poilievre held a rally in the North Island-Powell River riding of New Democrat Rachel Blaney. About 1,500 people attended the gathering in the Vancouver Island riding.

In recent months, Mr. Poilievre has also held a series of rallies throughout northern Ontario, on PEI, and in B.C. This month, he has held Bring it Home rallies in Whitehorse, Oliver, B.C., and Vancouver.

Ahead of this weeks St. Johns event, Labour Minister and St. Johns South-Mount Pearl MP Seamus ORegan said in a statement that he stays up nights worrying what Pierre Poilievre would do to Newfoundland and Labradors economy.

Yaroslav Baran, who served as a communications adviser to former Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, said rallies allow the leader to engage with voters outside the closed bubble of Ottawa. Mr. Poilievre tends to shake hands and pose for photos with any members of the audience who wants one, he said.

A federal election is not expected until the fall of 2025 because of a current working agreement between the governing Liberals and the New Democrats. However, that agreement could be at risk after the NDP, at its policy convention earlier this month, passed a resolution saying the party will withdraw its support if the government does not commit to a universal, comprehensive and entirely public pharmacare program.

Jamie Ellerton, a founding partner at public relations firm Conaptus and a former senior Conservative staffer, said strategic communications and marketing teaches that you dont get a buyer the first time you offer what youre selling. It is important to build brand equity, trust and a relationship, he said.

As [Poilievre] delivers his message now, its building those relationships on a personal level but also building a relationship with Canadians writ large to rebuild the Conservative Party brand and frankly define Pierres leadership, he said.

Mr. Reid said it is more challenging for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to hold rallies for his own political interests because he bears the weight of voter disappointment and concerns inevitable with being in government.

But Parker Lund, a spokesperson for the Liberal Party, said volunteers in ridings across Canada are connecting with Canadians and that in the coming months and years the party will continue our efforts to grow our movement by engaging more Canadians than ever before.

Mr. Lund said a sign of that political strength could be seen in the partys national convention this year when half the 4,000 delegates attending were at their first-ever such party event.

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Pierre Poilievre in campaign mode, targeting ridings held by ... - The Globe and Mail