Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Calgary Nose Hill.
My thoughts are with the families and the innocent people who are in harm's way right now, while war wages in the Middle East. To our Jewish community in Toronto, across Canada and globally, shanah tova.
This is not the kind of world we want, but this has been the case since October 7, 2023, when Hamas went on its violent rampage in Israel. I have been listening closely to the debate tonight, and I have appreciated the comments from hon. members on both sides of the House. This is a serious issue for us to discuss, and we are all concerned about the devastation in the Middle East and for Canadians who are in the region. I urge them to get out.
Like all Canadians, I am extremely concerned for those caught in the maelstrom of violence, particularly in Lebanon, where people are only looking to live their peaceful lives. However, there are other inhabitants of Lebanon as well, those who do not have this same purpose. Their purpose is one of destruction. Their purpose is to destroy Israel. I am speaking of the militant terrorist organization Hezbollah.
Hezbollah exists with the aim of destroying Israel. Let us be clear on this: Hezbollah is not the Government of Lebanon, nor does it represent the Lebanese people. What it represents is hate. It is an evil proxy for the Islamic Republic of Iran and it carries out its heinous wishes. It is a terrorist organization, working in league with Iran, with an aim of eliminating our ally and friend Israel. Hezbollah has been raining rockets on the people of northern Israel for over 11 months. Hezbollah has forced 60,000 Israelis to flee their homes. Hezbollah, through its actions, has made life miserable for people across the Middle East, and it must be stopped.
Meanwhile, Israel, as we should know, like any state, has as its first priority the defence and security of the citizens of its country.
I want to talk about why we on this side of the House are steadfast in our support for Israel. Five years ago, former prime minister Stephen Harper was asked, “Why do you support Israel?” His response was, “Why wouldn't I support Israel?” He went on to say:
Why wouldn't I support a fellow democratic nation where open elections, free speech, and religious tolerance are the everyday norm? Why wouldn't I support a country with a vibrant free press and an independent judiciary? Why wouldn't I support a valuable trading partner and a well-spring of amazing technological innovation? Why wouldn't I support our most critical ally in the Middle East, and in the international struggle against terrorism?
In a rational world, in a world where simple common sense prevailed, the question “why do you support Israel?” would be like asking “why do you support Australia?” or… “Canada?” But we don't live in that rational, common-sense world. So the case for Israel has to be made over and over. I, for one, am happy to make it.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper was right. He showed clear principles. We on this side of the House believe Israel has the right to defend itself from Iran, which today launched 181 ballistic missiles at 10 million Israeli civilians.
Unlike the Secretary-General of the UN, I will name the Islamic Republic of Iran and Hezbollah and Hamas, which must put down their arms and commit to ceasing their aggression against Israel. Remember, it was Hamas that made its incursion and raid into Israel almost one year ago today. That barbaric raid, which has been unequivocally condemned by all civilized humans, included the massacre of 1,200 people and the capture of 251 civilians, of whom 101 are still in captivity, not all amongst the living.
Let us not forget those captives even as this conflict escalates, precipitated by the evil axis of resistance commanded by the Islamic Republic. By many accounts, Hezbollah has been weakened, but it is not defeated. Israel has destroyed Hezbollah's munitions and rocket depots to defend the people of Israel.
The Hezbollah leader and several senior members of Hezbollah have been killed to reduce the effectiveness of the organization, and still there is no indication of a willingness to entertain a ceasefire. That is because they are a proxy for the Islamic Republic of Iran, which can tolerate many Hezbollah deaths and many Lebanese civilian deaths before thinking about a ceasefire. This is a shame.
A rational adversary would surrender or call for a ceasefire before a land invasion was undertaken, but rational is not what these terrorist organizations are. There is no negotiating with terrorists, and that is a long-standing policy of Canada, but we do not see the rockets stop.
Some hon. members have been calling for diplomacy, but how do they think diplomacy works with terrorist organizations? We all want the fighting to end, and we have seen that from the comments made by hon. members, but in the absence of a firm commitment from Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran to cease firing their missiles and rockets, I do not see how the fighting comes to an end.
I want to address one issue that is still leaving me scratching my head. In today's question period, the Leader of the Opposition asked if the government would declare that Israel has the right to defend itself. After all, the Islamic Republic of Iran sent some 200 missiles into Israel. The answer from the foreign affairs minister said nothing about Israel's right to defend itself. Instead, she said she had merely been in contact with her Israeli counterpart. Yes, she condemned the attack by Iran, which is the obvious thing to do, but the rest of her answer could hardly be construed as a robust support for our ally.
I would like the House to think about the declining state of our society here at home, with violence, non-peaceful protests, anti-Semitism and crime. What happens abroad deeply affects us here at home.
A number of hon. members have been rightly talking about how recent events have been affecting their constituents. In my riding of Toronto—St. Paul's, the terrible events in the Middle East have had a significant impact. The people I represent have told me that their kids are afraid to go to school, they do not feel safe in our streets and they are saddened and horrified by the repeated violence in the Middle East. There are some who stand against Israel, or at least the Israeli government. That is to be expected in a pluralistic society, but they are all united in their want of peace, their wish for a world without terrorist. A ceasefire is what they want, then peace.
Some hon. members will know from my first speech in this place that I do give considerable value to our country's history. That is why I was particularly impressed by the speech in this evening's debate by the hon. member for Wellington—Halton Hills.
To that end, I would like to invoke the words of our former prime minister, the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney, as I conclude my remarks. He too was a steadfast defender of Israel. As recently as last year, he said, “I think that Canada could have only one position—complete, blanket support for Israel and unrelenting denunciation of a jihadist criminal group, namely Hamas.” We can certainly add Hezbollah to that list as well.
Let me be clear: No one wants war, no one outside the Islamic Republic of Iran, as we heard earlier tonight, but no one wants to be left open to the terrorism of Hezbollah either. These terrorist organizations have brought destruction and devastation across the Middle East for decades. It is time for them to end their attacks.
We stand with Israel, the only democracy in the region. Where I come from, democracies stick with each other.