Thank you very much for the question. It's an excellent one.
I must say that I was rather pleased when Mr. Carney delivered his speech at Davos. In fact, I taught it to my students the next day, with much glee.
I was crestfallen, however, some weeks later. It was four weeks later or so when Mr. Carney prevaricated and was not very clear on what Canada's position should be in places like Iran, with respect to the United States and Israel's unlawful use of force there and the aggression against Iran, or indeed in Venezuela, and so on.
The point I'm raising here is that we are only as good as our ability to apply international law universally and treat like cases alike. That is how I would answer the question. I think that Carney showed leadership. The Prime Minister was very good at Davos. The general sense I get is that he understands what's at stake with respect to our relationship with the United States, which is extremely important. However, Canada can show leadership, and if it does, others will follow. Other middle powers will follow and, indeed, the global majority will follow—that is to say the global south. They will see, at long last, a state that takes seriously the international rule of law by applying it universally across the board, regardless.
With respect to internally displaced or refugee populations, a perfect example that's relevant to Canada is the manner in which we correctly and generously responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, dealing with the Ukraine refugees who came to Canada. Our neighbourhoods were welcoming; our government was welcoming, and we had all of these temporary visa programs in place—and rightly so. This showed leadership on Canada's part. Juxtapose that, only two years later, against the treatment by Canada—or not, if you like—of the Palestine refugee populations who were affected by what's going on there. Clearly, these are like cases. Both have foreign military occupations, both are the result of aggression and, at least in one case, a plausible genocide, if you take the words of the International Court of Justice seriously. However, Canada was not applying these principles equally and fairly, and that is the problem.
Canada can show leadership, but it comes down to political will. To each and every one of us, are we serious about international law? If we are, we'll do the right thing and apply it universally.