Mr. Speaker, over 100,000 Canadians are caught in the growing crisis in the Middle East, and they deserve more than vague assurances and last-minute contingency planning. As the threat from the Iranian regime escalated, the government says it deployed consular staff, updated travel advisories and explored possible airspace access. Those are preparatory steps, but Canadians in the region need action.
In past times of war and crisis, the Canadian government has organized emergency support and assisted in departures, such as Haiti in 2024 and Operation Lumen in support of potential evacuations in Lebanon in 2023. To date, Canada's response to the Iranian crisis has been reactive instead of proactive. When warning signs of impending crisis had been visible for months, plans and preparations should have already been in place.
Does the leader of the Bloc Québécois agree with my call for the government to work with allies and regional partners to secure safe departure operations without delay; to ensure that needed military personnel, aircraft and consular resources are in place; and to support the thousands of Canadians caught in the Middle East and the over 3,500 Canadians looking for extraction, including those within Iran?