The author is a citizen of Ahuntsic

By refusing to call for an immediate ceasefire in the war currently underway in Gaza, you appear to be condoning the reign of terror imposed on Palestinians by the Israeli army and the government of Netanyahu’s far-right Israeli side.

It is no longer about “allowing Israel to defend itself according to the rules of international law,” but rather about giving this spirit of revenge carte blanche in a completely asymmetrical war according to the principles of the law of retaliation. : “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. » We could wish for another speech from you and the Canadian government, which prides itself on being a model of democracy.

On November 1, 2023, Québec Solidaire submitted a motion in the National Assembly to call for a ceasefire between the belligerents since the start of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip. This motion was supported by two other opposition parties, the PQ and the Liberals. The CAQ decided to vote against this motion.

The next day, Haroun Bouazzi, the MP for Maurice-Richard (that provincial constituency that covers much of your federal constituency), burst into tears as he tried to give a press conference about the ruling party’s almost incomprehensible refusal to support the party this application.

At the federal level, the situation could be different if the Canadian government took independent positions on international issues that differed from those of American policy. There are past examples in your own party that support this possibility.

Pierre-Elliott Trudeau’s government had provoked the ire of the Nixon administration in the early 1970s because of its different positions on a number of international issues, such as maintaining dialogue with Cuba, by refusing to follow that position of the Empire.

In 2003, Jean Chrétien decided not to take part in the “coalition” led by the American army to destroy Baghdad because public opinion was largely hostile to participation in a war in Iraq. Unfortunately, this was not the case in Afghanistan, where the Canadian Army was involved between 2001 and 2014 and the full withdrawal in 2021 after decades of war ended in catastrophe for the population.

Among progressive conservatives, we remember the example of Brian Mulroney, who tried to help end apartheid in South Africa in the late 1980s.

Today we can reasonably assume that things would change, both at the federal level with the NDP’s call for a ceasefire (which was supported by some Liberal MPs) and at the provincial level with the QS motion for the Canada and Quebec positions.

As Foreign Minister, with sufficient influence in government, would it be possible for you to review your current position, which is only to call for a humanitarian ceasefire and not a complete end to the fighting?

In our opinion, the situation of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has been completely unbearable for almost a month. Could Canada play a greater role in calling for a ceasefire now and being a partner in a real peace plan?

The lack of electricity, water, gas and food for the population of Gaza is already tantamount to attempted genocide. The destruction of countless houses and the deaths of almost ten thousand people in less than a month in this inland area can only move any sensible person. Perhaps it even recalls the thunderous destruction of the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943.

With November 11th approaching, the day commemorating the Armistice of 1918, should it not be high time to do everything in our power to act as a peace factor and try to calm the situation in this terrible war?

The Palestinian people of Gaza have managed to survive for decades in conditions that have only worsened and that have left much of the “international community” seemingly indifferent.

We can only regret the Israeli civilian casualties of the October 7 attacks, but nothing can justify the scale of the vengeful response that is currently taking place.

Can one hope that the Canadian government, despite its strong economic ties with the United States, adopts a humanitarian stance that can help ease relations in this region of the Middle East? Do we have an interest in a wildfire breaking out? How far will this conflict go? What will happen to the fate of the hostages if everything in Gaza is destroyed? We are waiting for answers.