Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said she hopes a ceasefire can be used to solve the Israel-Hamas conflict. “That’s what President [Emmanuel] Macron said,” said Joly in a Thursday interview with the Toronto Star. “But what France has said, it’s that currently, we are at the stage of calling for a humanitarian pause, because speaking concretely, we must evacuate Canadians, we have to ensure hostages are freed and we have to make sure more humanitarian aid gets to Gaza.”.Joly admitted a humanitarian pause would allow a form of “detente and so allow, I hope, even more negotiations at a negotiating table where there are Israelis, Hamas and Qatar which is present as moderator.” The Canadian government has never called for a ceasefire, never set out the proper conditions that might lead to one and has never suggested it would view Hamas as an equal party at the negotiating table. The American government rejected this position, arguing it would be a propaganda victory for Hamas and legitimized its terrorist attacks. Conservative MP Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, ON) accused Joly of “confusing everyone with comments about Canada’s position on the war in the Middle East.”“Conservatives call on her to clarify what she meant and what exactly is the position of the Government of Canada,” said Chong..Hamas is a terrorist group under the Criminal Code of Canada. Chong said it has never been Canada’s position to negotiate with terrorists. In 2016, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada does not negotiate with terrorists after Canadian residents John Ridsdel and Robert Hall were taken hostage. Chong called for Joly to identify where she stood on this issue. One-tenth of Canadian MPs demanded a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in a petition rejected by cabinet on October 24. READ MORE: Trudeau recommends ‘humanitarian pause’ in Israeli-Hamas conflictTrudeau recommended a short humanitarian pause instead of a ceasefire.Among the 33 petitioners were nine Liberal committee chairs and parliamentary secretaries.
