WINNIPEG — Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have opposed efforts by Liberal MP Irwin Cotler to bring Iranian President Ahmadinejad to justice, Liberal leader Stéphane Dion told a Jewish audience in Winnipeg last week.

Stéphane Dion addresses Jewish audience in Winnipeg.

Dion said that the entire Liberal party “has supported Irwin’s initiative to hold President Ahmadinejad to account before the UN Security Council or a duly constituted international tribunal for the crime of genocidal incitement as required by the 1948 genocide convention.“I do not understand why Conservative MPs have attempted to block Irwin’s motion in support of this initiative that he brought forward at Parliament’s human rights subcommittee,” Dion told the Sept. 24 event at Winnipeg’s Asper Campus.

Dion charged that “Peter MacKay, then the foreign minister, rejected this initiative as a worthless gesture because [he said] it probably won’t work. I don’t know how he came to that determination, but when it comes to international law, I think I’ll trust Irwin Cotler’s opinion over Peter MacKay’s.”

Dion urged Harper “to reverse this short-sighted decision so that all parties can stand together and put Canada at the forefront again of standing up to genocide on the global stage.”

Local Liberal MP Anita Neville said at the event that she – as well as Thornhill Liberal MP Susan Kadis, York-Centre Liberal MP Ken Dryden and others – had “asked questions in the House of Commons about why the Conservatives had blocked Cotler’s initiative, but were not given answers.”

Dion also said he “is disappointed” that the Oct. 14 election falls on on the first day of Sukkot. Dion said that Harper “had to breach his own law on fixed election dates in order to call this election… And it’s not an acceptable answer to say that the Jewish community can vote in the advanced polls. The point is that many Jews will not be able to participate as fully as they would like to on election day itself.”

Jewish voters should have the same rights as others to “take into account the last week of the campaign before they cast a vote,” Dion said to applause from the audience, made up of senior high school students from Winnipeg’s Gray Academy of Jewish Education and members of the community.

On the subject of the Middle East, Dion said that a cornerstone of his party’s platform is “the right of Israel to exist in peace and security,” adding that the Liberals “believe in a two-state solution.”

Dion also said that peace “requires an independent, democratic and secure Palestine existing beside an independent, democratic and secure Israel.”

He said that the Liberals “support the right of all states in the region and around the world to be free from the threats or acts of force… we unequivocally condemn terrorism – from whatever source, for whatever purpose.”

When asked by a Gray Academy high school student whether he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a hush fell over the room. Dion’s complete answer was, “I hope we will find a healthy solution for Jerusalem.”

Asked by The CJN whether Harper ought to be applauded for making Canada the first country in the world to suspend direct aid to Hamas when it won Palestinian elections in 2006, Dion  answered that it was the Liberal government that listed Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist entities in 2002.

“It was the Liberal party that put the policy…in place that enabled Canada to list terrorists such that Mr. Harper could do this,” Dion said.

When asked whether Harper ought to be credited for saying that Canada will not participate in next year’s followup to the 2001 UN anti-racism conference –because of fears it will be an anti-Semitic hate fest like it’s predecessor – Dion said, “We [the Liberals party] do not want to be at this conference.”

He said that only the NDP has said “maybe yes, maybe no” to attending Durban II.

Dion also spoke about his promise of $75 million in funding to “at risk”ethnic communities to help beef up their security.

“This announcement is important for communities at risk… [The money] will be needed [to protect] your centres, synagogues, your schools… The cost to your community is growing.”

Dion said the 2004 firebombing of United Talmud Torah’s Saint Laurent branch in his Montreal riding was a key reason he decided to pledge the funds.  

“[When the firebombing occurred], I took it personally… That day I swore to myself that I would do everything in my power to protect our children.”