Canada off the fence

Editorial

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay are under attack for being avowedly on Israel's side in this current conflict.

Interim Liberal leader Bill Graham last week even went so far as to lament what he perceives as the loss of Canada's foreign policy neutrality.

Speaking on the CTV program Question Period Sunday, MacKay said Israel's actions are a principled response to circumstances.

"A cease-fire and a return to the status quo is a victory for Hezbollah," said MacKay. "Let's not forget that this was an unprovoked attack by a terrorist organization. Missiles were being fired into Israel. This is an attempt to defend a sovereign nation.... This wasn't an impulsive move by Israel."

The Conservative government's position on this conflict is the principled middle-road response. While Graham might prefer a middle path that views terrorists who target civilians as moral equals to a nation defending its civilian citizens, most thinking Canadians do not. Bravo again to the Tories for their remarkably principled response.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, there were expressions of dismay over what some commentators and letters to the editor depict as "Lebanese-Canadians" who are citizens of convenience, holding dual passports for, presumably, an occasion just like this. This is a delicate path to tread, of course, not least because Canada is a multicultural country that permits this sort of duality, but also because there are plenty of "Israeli-Canadians" in much the same boat.

The question, then, should be what provisions are being made to transport Israeli-Canadians out of the war zones and back to safety?

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