QUEBEC – Typically quick to denounce or deplore international conflicts, the National Assembly remains silent on the war ravaging Iran and the countries of the Middle East for a month.
Parties often come together to call for the peaceful resolution of conflicts in Quebec, but in this case, no motion has been tabled in the House, even though the war in Iran has direct consequences on the daily lives of Quebecers who are filling up at gas stations.
The Parliament has expressed itself many times through motions before concerning the war in Ukraine, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, or the acts of violence by armed gangs in Haiti, but this time, no political party has officially come forward in the Red Room.
The Minister of International Relations, Christopher Skeete, had called on March 3rd for a “de-escalation of the conflict by favoring peaceful solutions, in the interest of civilian populations in Iran and the entire region”, but did not speak on the matter in Parliament.
Opposition parties suggested on Wednesday that there had been no motion proposal circulated among them on this issue to be tabled in the House.
Liberal leader Charles Milliard indicated that his party has no official position since foreign affairs are a federal jurisdiction.
“We have a role, of course, to play and we have to comment on the impact on the price of gas, for example,” he said at a press briefing. “But I note like you that there has been no official position taken in the Assembly.”
The parliamentary leader of Quebec solidaire (QS), Alexandre Leduc, emphasized that his party had taken a position on social media in support of Iranians.
“There is a foreign American, Israeli aggression on the regime,” he said. “It’s a situation where we are neither supporting the ayatollahs, of course, nor supporting the bombings.”
QS subsequently sent messages published by its members on social media to La Presse Canadienne, including Ruba Ghazal who lamented that “the lives of women and children shatter” when “the bombs fall.”
Likewise, his colleague Andrés Fontecilla denounced “the attack by the United States and Israel against Iran, which constitutes an illegal aggression and a blatant violation of international law.”
Last week, QS distanced itself from a rally in support of the Iranian regime where the party’s flag had been displayed.
In a press release, Parti Québécois member Pascal Paradis recalled that he had denounced the “dictatorial regime” of Iran while calling for a solution in accordance with international law to prevent escalation.
He added that this conflict once again highlights the fact that Quebec, as a mere province, cannot defend its interests on the international stage while its citizens are affected by the increase in fuel prices.
Mr. Paradis, who was a founding member and general manager of Avocats sans frontières Canada, spoke at the beginning of the conflict in Iran.
“The regime of Ayatollah Khamenei (…) used violence against its own population and committed numerous abuses against civilians, resulting in between 6,000 and 30,000 deaths in just the past year according to various sources,” he wrote on the X platform.
“This regime is also a major threat to international security, against which the nations of the world have the right to protect themselves,” he added, mentioning that “the fate of Iran lies in the hands of the Iranian people” and that “all too often, such military interventions do not lead to the hoped-for liberation or the establishment of democracy.”
It should be noted that a motion formulates a position of the Assembly once it is adopted, but cannot bind the government.
