Madam Speaker, I understand that this is a difficult issue for a lot of members. When issues like the Middle East are debated in the House of Commons, issues on which the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party take opposite positions, the debate can sometimes become heated. My goal is to unpackage some of that disagreement in the hope that we might find common ground.
The distinction is that this current Conservative Prime Minister led the entire world in walking out on the Durban II hate festival because we knew it was an anti-Semitic and racist event. Because of the leadership of this Conservative Prime Minister, the rest of the world followed Canada in acknowledging that. Country after country followed our Canada and this Prime Minister in making that decision.
By contrast, the Liberal government decided to stay at the Durban I conference even when the hideous facts of that conference became apparent. Now the member for Mount Royal has said that the Liberal government members could not have left because they did not know what was going on and they had to stay until the end to find out. However, that did not stop Israel and the United States from doing the courageous thing, which was to walk out.
Now I understand it was easier for the Liberals to stay at Durban I, but sometimes courage is difficult, and I would like to commend the United States and Israel which made the right decision to walk out at that conference. At the time the Conservative predecessor parties called on the Liberals to leave, but they refused. In the latest conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, our government stood with Israel against terrorism. The Liberal leader said Israel had committed war crimes. That is on the record and the member for Mount Royal cannot change the facts, nor can he silence those who are making those facts known.