Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I just have a quick comment.
I am a member of Parliament for Langley, but I'm also a father and a grandfather, and I think every one of us here is deeply disturbed by the war that we see taking place and the loss of life. I came here today to listen to the witnesses, so I'm deeply disappointed that there was political mischief at work here and we were not able to listen to the witnesses--people who have left Lebanon--share with this committee some of the positive things, and provide suggestions on how we can deal with the situation in Lebanon. Instead, political games are being played here, and I find it deeply disturbing.
Mr. Alghabra said it's reprehensible to not call for a ceasefire. He was here when the foreign affairs minister shared that on July 16 and 26 Canada called for a ceasefire. We were signatory to that. So why would a member of this committee share with this committee things that are not accurate? Why would somebody do that?
It's also been said that there's reluctance to ask for a ceasefire right now. Well, who is reluctant to ask for a ceasefire right now? You heard that the foreign affairs minister twice, on July 16 and 26, asked for a ceasefire, and that Canada was a signatory to a ceasefire. You continue to say, let the fire continue. Who is saying that? Surely he's not.
So we have to make sure, as we provide debate around this table, that it's accurate, truthful, and not misleading, that we get down to the facts that will provide solutions to the huge problem we see in the Middle East.
On July 12, Hezbollah attacked Israel and kidnapped two soldiers in a cross-border raid. Israel responded by launching air, ground, and naval offences. As we heard from the minister, four days later Canada signed a ceasefire request--and then again ten days later. The member is shaking his head no, but I'm not quite sure what his motives are.
We have a motion from Madame Lalonde, and now we're speaking to an amendment to that. I think the amendment is in order and strongly shares Canada's commitment. We're strongly condemning the launching of Hezbollah's rockets into Israel--that's what started this. It calls on Israel to exercise the utmost restraint. We need to be part of the solution, stop playing games, and hear from the witnesses as soon as possible.
Thank you.