Canada\u2019s government is calling for an immediate de-escalation of the growing Middle East conflict, while facing sharp criticism at home over its response to the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States.<\/p>\n
Speaking in the House of Commons of Canada on Monday night, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand condemned attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure and stressed that international law must be respected by all sides.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe focus must be on rapid de-escalation,\u201d Anand told MPs, adding that the federal government\u2019s top priority remains the safety of Canadians abroad.<\/p>\n
Anand also confirmed that Canada was not consulted ahead of the recent military strikes carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran and said Ottawa has no intention of joining the conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons and grow its arsenal of missiles that represent a serious threat to international peace and security,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
The debate unfolded without the presence of Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose absence drew criticism from opposition parties demanding clearer leadership on the war.<\/p>\n
Carney has faced mounting scrutiny after issuing a series of statements that appeared to shift Canada\u2019s stance since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n
Initially, the prime minister released a statement expressing support for the airstrikes, a move that unsettled some members of his own Liberal caucus. Days later, he appeared to soften that position, suggesting the attacks could violate international law while saying his support had been expressed \u201cwith regret\u201d and calling for a diplomatic resolution.<\/p>\n
While speaking in Canberra last week, Carney added further uncertainty by saying that although Canadian participation in the conflict was a \u201cfundamental hypothetical,\u201d he could not \u201ccategorically rule out participation\u201d if allies requested assistance.<\/p>\n
Opposition leaders seized on the shifting messages during Monday\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre argued that removing Iran\u2019s ruling government would be in the national interest and called for more decisive leadership from the prime minister.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need strong leadership that takes a stand, maintains that stand, stays consistent at home and abroad and shows up in this House of Commons to do what is right and speak for the Canadian people,\u201d Poilievre said.<\/p>\n
He added that Carney initially backed the strikes but has since \u201cflipped and flopped more than four times,\u201d accusing the government of confusing allies and dividing Canadians.<\/p>\n
Poilievre also urged Parliament to review any future request for Canadian involvement in the war and called for an emergency debate on the conflict\u2019s impact on global energy supplies.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere at home, this war should not be used as an excuse for higher food and gas prices,\u201d he said, arguing Canada has the domestic energy and food resources needed to stabilize costs.<\/p>\n
Defence Minister David McGuinty told MPs that all members of the Canadian Armed Forces deployed in the region are safe and accounted for.<\/p>\n
McGuinty emphasized that Canada does not enter conflicts without consultation or a formal request from allies, adding that protecting personnel abroad and Canadians in affected regions remains the government\u2019s priority.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese principles guide our actions today,\u201d he said, noting Canada continues to support stability through diplomacy and adherence to international law.<\/p>\n
Other opposition parties also criticized the government\u2019s messaging.<\/p>\n
Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe questioned how the prime minister could support U.S. military action while simultaneously stressing the need to uphold international law.<\/p>\n
Bloc House Leader Christine Normandin said Carney\u2019s decision to skip the debate reflects what her party views as a broader lack of engagement with Parliament.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, interim NDP leader Don Davies described the government\u2019s communication about the war as \u201cunprincipled, contradictory and incoherent,\u201d arguing Canadians deserve a clear explanation of the country\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
Davies also warned that the conflict has already seen \u201cnumerous, repeated and continuing war crimes,\u201d pointing to reports of bombings targeting hospitals, schools and desalination plants in Iran.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canada\u2019s government is calling for an immediate de-escalation of the growing Middle East conflict, while facing sharp criticism at home over its response to the war involving Iran, Israel and the United States. Speaking in the House of Commons of Canada on Monday night, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand condemned attacks on civilians and civilian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123,"featured_media":14729,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[104,2],"tags":[3672],"class_list":["post-2632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politics","tag-amat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2632\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14729"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swifteradio.com\/update\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}