The Conservatives don't want a ceasefire.

Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc, and the Greens (almost) all voted for a ceasefire, expanded humanitarian assistance, and respect for human rights.

We debated and voted today on an NDP motion with respect to Canada’s actions to promote peace in the Middle East.

At the tail end of the parliamentary debate, House Leader Steve MacKinnon introduced a series of government amendments.

As I told the CBC last week, the original text wasn’t perfect by any means. But, in broad strokes, it was a push to support human rights. And Canada’s role should be to defend human rights and peace.

The amendments largely addressed the motion’s shortcomings and ensured Liberals, the NDP, the Bloc and Greens were (almost entirely) united.

Of course, the Conservatives still voted against it.

For simplicity, I’ll skip the preamble and get to the calls to action noting both original (unbolded or struck out) and amended language (bolded), alongside some thoughts on each.

1. Demand an immediate ceasefire, and the release of all hostages, and that Hamas must lay down its arms;

This is, rightly, the first call to action because it’s the most important one. It’s past time for the violence to end and for the hostages to be freed. 

Calling for a ceasefire may have proven more controversial back in October, despite the fact it was obvious where things were headed even then. But it’s certainly not controversial now.

2. Suspend all trade in military goods and technology with Israel Cease the further authorization and transfer of arms exports to Israel to ensure compliance with Canada’s arms export regime and increase efforts to stop the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas;

We should do all we can to support international efforts to crack down on the illegal trade of arms, including to Hamas. 

Of course it’s more complicated when it comes to suspending trade in military goods/tech with an ally. But, as I considered here, we have obligations we must meet pursuant to the Arms Trade Treaty and the Export and Import Permits Act. 

I’ve already called for Global Affairs to review whether our military exports to Israel comply with those obligations and said that we should pause exports as Global Affairs reviews and reconsiders its position. This appears to have taken place based on media reports, and the text accomplishes the same.

3. Immediately reinstate funding and Ensure long-term continued funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to meet the dire humanitarian need, and support the independent investigation engage with the United Nations internal investigations and independent review process, and ensure implementation of necessary long-term governance reforms and accountability measures;

Again, I wrote about this here, and argued that the original suspension decision was misguided given the acute humanitarian crisis on the ground. 

This issue is now moot, as the government has already lifted the suspension. It’s useful to note here that Canadian funding has not been impacted, as the next funding round was always set to take place in April. And the amendments better reflect the additional need for longer-term reforms outside of the immediate crisis.

4. Support the prosecution of all crimes and violations of international law committed in the region;, and

One of the weaknesses with the ICJ hearing is that it’s limited to the very high threshold of genocide, and that Hamas is not a party despite its crimes. 

We should support an independent accountability mechanism for any breaches of international humanitarian law by actors on both sides.

5. Support the work of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court;

While I view the genocide case before the ICJ as a weak one given the insufficient evidence on the question of intent, we should continue to respect the processes at the ICJ and the ICC. That means making it clear that the ICJ’s provisional orders should be respected, which is especially important for the next point on the list.

5. Demand unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza; 

I would have put this up front as the second call to action. In a vote of 16-1 (only Justice Sebutinde dissenting), the ICJ ordered Israel to ensure the immediate and effective provision of humanitarian assistance. 

Unfortunately, humanitarian assistance has not been provided in keeping with that order. It’s at the point where the US, Canada and other allies have mused about plans to air lift aid, an ineffective alternative measure usually reserved for natural disasters and not a border blockade maintained by an ally.

6. Ensure Canadians trapped in Gaza can reach safety in Canada and lift the arbitrary cap of 1,000 and expand access to the temporary resident visa applications;

While Minister Miller has fairly noted that it’s very difficult to expand the program if no one is getting through, he’s also said that there is no hard cap and reiterated that it’s a targeted program for those with loved ones in Canada. We should expand the program where possible and continue diplomacy to make it work.

7. Ban Sanction extremist settlers from Canada, impose sanctions on Israeli officials who incite genocide, and maintain sanctions on Hamas leaders;

Countries are rightly taking action against extremist settlers. Hamas is a terrorist organization that can have no place in the future governance of Gaza.

The initial drafting was a little clumsy, as any incitement of genocide should be punished.

8. Reaffirm that settlements are illegal under international law and that settlements and settler violence are serious obstacles to a negotiated two-state solution, and advocate for an end to the decades-long occupation of Palestinian territories and work towards a two-state solution; and

This is consistent with long-standing foreign policy, even if successive governments have consistently failed to act consistently with it.

As Jon Allen, Canada’s former Ambassador to Israel, wrote back in October: “ultimately, the only way to stop the current and future cycles of violence is to deal with the underlying causes of the conflict, i.e. end the Occupation and negotiate a two-state solution.” He’s right.

9. Work with international partners to actively pursue the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, including towards the establishment of Officially recognize the State of Palestine as part of a negotiated two-state solution, and maintain Canada’s recognition of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace with its neighbours.

The original provision was interpreted by some as a unilateral recognition that would rewrite decades of foreign policy and reward Hamas.

Of course, for there to be a two-state solution there need to be two states. Just as obviously, it’s impossible to recognize the State of Palestine in any realistic manner so long as Hamas controls Gaza.

So I always read the motion as calling for the government to actively work towards recognizing the State of Palestine, and to renew efforts much more seriously in the face of a Netanyahu government that refuses to even entertain the possibility.

As UK Foreign Minister David Cameron has recently said (for the Conservatives in the back): Palestinians must have “a political horizon so that they can see that there is going to be irreversible progress to a two-state solution” and “we should be starting to set out what a Palestinian state would look like – what it would comprise, how it would work. As that happens, we, with allies, will look at the issue of recognising a Palestinian state, including at the United Nations. This could be one of the things that helps to make this process irreversible.”

And more from Cameron (because we don’t have Conservatives who talk like this): “I don’t think that should happen at the start of the process because I think that takes all the pressure off the Palestinians to reform. But it shouldn’t have to wait till the end,” else Israel remain the gatekeeper of Palestinian statehood.

The amendment is ultimately softer than Cameron’s language, but it helpfully clarified that there is no useful unilateral recognition of the State of Palestine in the circumstances and it returns us to text that is consistent with the long-standing foreign policy of a negotiated settlement.

More importantly, the amendments refocused the motion on what matters most: an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages, an expansion of humanitarian aid, and the protection of human rights.

It also ensured more MPs voted to support the motion and made much clearer where the core disagreement lies in all of this.

Most Canadians and most parliamentarians support a ceasefire.

Conservatives don’t.