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OTTAWA — Members of Parliament are expected to debate Canada’s approach to the U.S.-Israel war on Iran on Monday evening, although the prime minister won’t be taking part.
After opposition parties called for some form of debate, the government proposed a take-note debate in the House of Commons about the conflict and its impact on Canadians abroad.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said he will not take part. He is set to attend a community event in the evening.
Read more:
- Targets in Iran widen into civilian infrastructure as Bahrain says water plant hit
- A new wave of strikes lights up Tehran, Netanyahu vows ‘many surprises’
- How the war in Iran could affect Canadians, from grocery costs to terrorism
NDP interim leader Don Davies slammed the government’s communications on the conflict so far.
“Prime Minister Carney’s position on this conflict has been unprincipled, incoherent and contradictory. It changes by the day. Even more troubling, Mr. Carney refuses to rule out sending Canadian Forces into this illegal war,” Davies said in a media statement.
He added the NDP wants Canada to condemn the war as a violation of international law and categorically rule out any Canadian participation.
In Australia on March 4, Carney said the notion of Canadian participation was a “fundamental hypothetical” but said he could not “categorically rule out participation” particularly if allies needed defending.
Some of Carney’s own caucus members publicly expressed unease after the prime minister expressed support for the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran on Feb. 28.
Days after the attack, Carney stepped back from that position somewhat by stating the airstrikes likely violate international law and insisting he expressed support for the mission “with regret.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Carney has been contradicting himself and no one understands his position on the war. He accused the prime minister of hiding from Monday’s debate.
Poilievre condemned the Iranian regime as illegal and said his party supports U.S. and Israeli action to overturn it and replace it with a democratically elected government.
He said Parliament should be able to assess any request for Canadian participation in the conflict, if there is one, and the government should be focused on what it can control.
“Here at home, this war should not be used as an excuse for higher food and gas prices. We have the energy here at home, we have the food here at home to make life affordable,” he said.
The Conservatives have demanded an emergency debate about how the conflict is affecting global energy supplies.
“The war in the Middle East has caused an energy scramble,” Poilievre said, adding that allies are looking for alternative sources of energy and Canada is not able to provide it.
He called for changes to laws he claimed are preventing Canadian energy from reaching markets in Europe and elsewhere. He called for the termination of the industrial carbon price and the repeal of the West Coast tanker ban.
“I’ll work with the prime minister to get these things done,” he said.
Poilievre also said the Carney government needs to use the powers it granted itself through the One Canadian Economy Act — the first bill passed by the Liberal government last summer, with the support of the Tories.
The law allows the government to quickly approve major infrastructure projects that are deemed to be in the national interest. A number of proposed projects have been referred to the Major Projects Office.
— with files from Dylan Robertson, Kyle Duggan and Rob Drinkwater
