Mr. Chair, let me answer this way: Canada is certainly not alone. We have a lot of international allies that we've been working with constructively and productively from the very beginning. I don't need to list the G8 countries. I don't need to list all of the countries that are actively engaged in this exercise both at the UN and in other meetings that are taking place simultaneously.
Lebanon is being held hostage by Hezbollah. There can be no doubt about that. Hezbollah is a cancer on Lebanon, which is destroying stability and democracy within its boundaries. The EU has just released a statement that says that the council calls for an immediate end to the hostilities, to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire. That has been the position of Canada and it has been the position of other nations throughout this time. It calls for a ceasefire by all parties involved, and one of those parties is a terrorist organization.
I don't think I'm alone. A recent article in the Ottawa Citizen quotes Liberal Senator Colin Kenney as saying, “I'm sorry, Canada's traditional way is picking sides, getting on the good guy's side and going for the win.”
It goes on to say, “If you give me a choice between the state of Israel--the only democracy in the Middle East--and Hezbollah--a bunch of thugs who are out to assassinate and disrupt society--that's a no-brainer.”
He went on to say in reference to some of his other colleagues and their comments in the news, “...there's nothing nuanced about a bunch of terrorists shooting rockets into a country like that, and when that happens I expect the country to use all its force to eliminate them.”
Mr. Chair, I don't think Canada's position is isolated in any way. I don't think we have done anything other than participate productively and actively in looking for solutions that will lead to a ceasefire. That's what we've done from the beginning, and that's what we'll continue to do.