Crisis in the Middle East: Canada’s Potential is Squandered by Conservative Policy Shift

As the world’s leaders strive to find a workable proposal for a cease-fire and peacekeeping mission in the Middle East, Prime Minister Stephen Harper seems increasingly at odds with the global community and with our national character.

While supporters of the Prime Minister’s shift in Canada’s foreign policy claim that Canada has only played a minor role in brokering peace in troubled regions, the fact remains that as more states align themselves with certain powers in the mid-East conflict, there are fewer left who are capable of working with all parties. This position also ignores the tremendous contribution

Canada has made over the past half-century at the United Nations (UN), where we have often exercised a moderating influence on those who would perpetrate unreasonable diplomatic attacks on Israel.

Since its creation in 1948, Canadians have been committed to the existence of an Israeli state. We have also recognized that terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, which use tactics that the global community must condemn, present a threat to the existence of Israel and to a lasting peace in the Middle East. Israel must have the right to defend itself against an enemy implacably opposed to its existence, but the right of self-defence is always subject to international law. In the end, however, there must be moderators who can make a dialogue possible.

On a 2002 visit to Jerusalem undertaken as part of my duties as Canada’s foreign minister, I had the privilege of meeting with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and then Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. I will never forget his words, which to me embody the potential that our nation has to improve the situation in the Middle East. He told me “you don’t make peace with your friends, only with your enemies.”

It is vital for middle-power nations such as Canada to pursue a fair-minded and balanced foreign policy because it preserves our ability to act as an appropriate intermediary, helping to make peace between enemies, rather than simply validating the positions held by any one party. It is only by acting in this way that we can truly help our friends.
In the current situation, the Harper government, instead of encouraging international efforts toward a cease-fire, has taken the position that the violence should run its course, thereby ensuring further civilian casualties on both sides.

It is now clear that the only way to stop the loss of innocent civilian life and the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure is the cessation of hostilities by all parties. An immediate cease-fire is a mandatory first step before any progress toward a lasting peace can be made.
The continuance of the present violence is detrimental to the long-term security of Israel, and devastating to the possibility of a free and democratic Lebanon, which is vital to future peace in the region.

Any cease-fire put in place will provide a window of opportunity for the global community to move toward a more formal arrangement based on the following fundamental principles.

A lasting peace agreement must ensure the security of both Israel and Lebanon and their citizens. Innocent victims in Israel and Lebanon are not responsible for what is taking place, but they are paying the cost. The loss of innocent life is to be deplored and the international community must work to put an end to civilian deaths and the destruction of civilian infrastructure by all parties.

Any peace agreement must be based on respect for the borders of sovereign nations and international humanitarian law. To that end, the re-establishment of Lebanese sovereignty over the entirety of its territory must be an element of any long-term plan. The present violence is destabilizing any progress that could be made in this area and strengthening radical elements hostile to an eventual peaceful solution by elevating the position of Hezbollah throughout the Arab world.

Over the last forty years, military operations in the region have not brought about lasting peace and security, nor will they in this case – a political solution, not a military one, is needed. Without establishing the goals and principles of a peace agreement, any intervention force will be unworkable.

Until a frame-work for a lasting solution, which enjoys a large consensus among interested parties in the region, is in place the question of sending an intervention force is a moot point: we must have a plan for peace in place before we can bring in peace-keepers to enforce it.

This is why the Harper government’s abandonment of Canada’s historic role as a bridge-builder in the Middle East is so distressing. Having now made our position indistinguishable from that of the Bush administration there is no possibility of an independent and credible Canadian voice to call for positive initiatives from all sides.

In so acting, the Harper government risks not only losing our ability to act as peace-keeper and honest broker internationally, but our domestic harmony as well.
In framing our foreign policy, it is the responsibility of Canada’s leaders to ensure that our policies do not contribute to the import of hatred and violence that plague other regions of the world into Canada’s domestic political context. We have an obligation to all Canadians – particularly those that have come to Canada to seek a more peaceful life – to govern our words and actions to ensure we do not fan the flames of intolerance, here at home, and around the globe.

In justifying their present position, Conservatives deride Canada’s historical contributions to peace, and in doing so they fail to understand an important aspect of our national character.

Liberals continue to believe that we Canadians are uniquely positioned to be able to foster a peaceful dialogue among our many communities in an effort to forge a consensus that not only preserves our domestic peace and security, but may also help to provide a solution to the greater international turmoil.

It would be a tremendous disappointment for Canadians to see Prime Minister Harper squander our historical reputation and our potential for the sake of a misguided short-term political calculus.