OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s parliamentary secretary on foreign affairs is defending a decision to advance a committee motion to study the issue of unilaterally recognizing Palestinian statehood, against concerns it breaks from decades of Canadian policy.
Rob Oliphant, a Toronto Liberal MP who serves as parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, was among the majority of foreign-affairs committee members who voted on Tuesday in favour of a motion calling for the committee to “immediately study the issue of how the Government of Canada can advance the recognition of the State of Palestine within a two-state solution.”
The text of the motion also says the committee “supports the recognition of a viable and independent State of Palestine.”
The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois all voted in favour. The Opposition Conservatives voted against the motion, saying it departs from longstanding Canadian policy that recognizing Palestinian statehood could only happen at the end of a negotiated two-state agreement with Israel.
Michael Chong, the Conservative’s foreign affairs critic, warned during Tuesday’s meeting that providing unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood could hurt Canada’s standing in the G7 and with other allies.
The national advocacy group the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs issued a statement after the committee vote, decrying what it called “a reckless move,” given how it believes providing immediate recognition without having gone through a negotiated process “undermines peace and jeopardizes Israel’s security.”
Liberal MP Marco Mendicino also posted to social media that he disagrees with the move, saying “Canada’s foreign policy should hold Hamas accountable, not legitimize them with status as a governing power.”
“Put bluntly, they are the terrorists who murdered 1,200 Israelis, eight Canadians, continue to hold and execute hostages, and want to eradicate the Jewish people,” the Toronto MP wrote on X.
Heading into the Liberals’ caucus meeting on Wednesday, Oliphant said the motion is simply meant to study the issue and he noted that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said earlier this year that recognizing Palestinian statehood would not necessarily happen at the end of a negotiated process.
“(Trudeau) has said that the recognition of the state of Palestine will happen, not necessarily at the end of the process, but sometime during the process where the timing and conditions will be such that it will foster lasting peace,” he said.
“We need to know what that timing is, what the issues are and what the conditions should be, because we want a two-state solution,” Oliphant said.
Following a UN vote in May, in which Canada abstained from recognizing Palestinian statehood, Trudeau told reporters that while Canada’s longstanding position has been that recognizing a Palestinian state could only happen at the end of a process leading to a two-state solution, “we now recognize that it may happen sooner … as a way of pushing toward that two-state solution.”
Trudeau at the time also acknowledged Canada’s shift in position at the United Nations and has repeatedly condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for rejecting a two-state solution and Palestinian statehood.
Oliphant said on Wednesday the government has been clear in its commitment to work towards a two-state solution.
“Palestine will be recognized at a good time.”
International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen said on Wednesday that parliamentary committees are free to study whatever issue they choose, and that the government will be providing its response to their findings.
The committee has voted to hold up to four meetings to probe the issue, which will include hearing from witnesses.
“I can’t pre-empt what the government will respond to. What I call tell you is our position is a two-state solution to this longstanding conflict,” said Hussen.
“We believe that a two-state solution is the best path forward for lasting peace in the Middle East — that’s our position. How we end up getting there is something that obviously, is something that the government will continuously look at based on the situation on the ground,” he said.
The federal New Democrats are pushing the government to provide immediate recognition of Palestinian statehood, with the party’s foreign affairs critic telling Tuesday’s committee the time is now.
“The time has been right for a very long time,” said Heather McPherson.
The committee motion comes just weeks before the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 attacks in southern Israel, where terrorists killed more than 1,200 Israelis and took more than 200 others hostage. The subsequent war in Gaza has left more than 40,000 Palestinians dead, according the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between combatant and civilian deaths.
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