Dear John,   

Late last night, the House of Commons voted to pass an amended version of the NDP’s motion on the Middle East. There is a lot of misunderstanding about what this motion means, why the government did what it did, and what the consequences will be for Canada’s Jewish community.

Motions like these are not legally binding, and they do not change any laws or put any obligations on the government. In fact, these motions do not even have to be completely attuned with reality. However, how parties vote on them is still important because they can demonstrate to Canadians where they stand on a topic.

Put forward by NDP MP Heather McPherson, the original motion was virulently anti-Israel, placing the entire onus on resolving the conflict, as well as all blame for the war, on Israel – while giving Hamas, an actual Canadian listed terrorist organization, a free pass. The most extreme and poorly considered point was the unilateral and immediate recognition of a Palestinian state – without any negotiation with Israel or the Palestinian Authority, without any consent of the parties involved, and without removing Hamas from power in Gaza.

This unilateral recognition would have gone against decades of Canadian foreign policy. Both Liberal and Conservative Prime Ministers have supported a negotiated two-state solution since the early days of Israel’s statehood, and this negotiation is a key requirement for Canada’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

Our community made it clear that this motion was unacceptable. More than 30,000 Jewish Canadians and our allies mobilized against the NDP’s motion, sending, in only a few days, a staggering 900,000 emails to Members of Parliament and thousands of phone calls to MPs’ offices. These efforts made a difference. We had feared that some in the Liberal caucus would allow the motion to pass in its original form – the worst possible outcome. But the pressure the Jewish community put on the Liberal government pushed them to prevent this worst-case scenario.

Late on Monday night, the Liberals cut a deal with the NDP to amend the motion – by removing the unilateral recognition clause. The problematic nature of the clause was recognized by Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, who stated that “foreign policy will not be decided by an opposition motion.”

That’s not to say the amended motion does not remain problematic. It still laid heavy blame on Israel and had little focus on eliminating Hamas or stopping their terror. It committed to blocking future military support for Israel and included an extraneous focus on extremist West Bank settlers that is unrelated to the war in Gaza. The Liberal government decided to vote in favour of the amended motion, and it passed the House of Commons by a vote of 204-117.

There were MPs who took a stand against the motion completely, refusing to compromise with the extreme anti-Israel radicals. This included Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative MPs, Liberals Anthony Housefather, Ben Carr, and Marco Mendicino, and independent MP Kevin Vuong, all of whom should be commended for their moral clarity. We thank each one of them deeply.

Please join us in thanking the 117 MPs who voted “NO” to rewarding Hamas and changing Canada’s longstanding foreign policy.

Make no mistake – although disappointing, this situation could have been much worse. Watering down the motion and removing the unilateral recognition was a significantly better outcome than if the motion had passed unchanged. And that change is the direct result of the quick mobilization of the Jewish community and our allies. While taking a clear and moral stand by voting the motion down completely would have been the right thing to do, what passed is at least still non-binding.

This motion has shaken our community, but our community is resilient. While this outcome wasn’t what we hoped for, the actions and strength of the Jewish community made a difference. We stopped Canada from reversing decades of foreign policy based on the whims of an extreme fringe and prevented the government from fully turning its back on Israel. We must keep up our work to stop further concessions to radicals.

To send a letter of appreciation to the MPs who led with moral clarity and refused to compromise with the extreme anti-Israel radicals, click here.

Sincerely, 
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs