The Conservatives released their full platform on Aug. 16 and Israel and the Middle East merit attention.
Across 83 pages, the party unveiled a focus on jobs and economic growth on the first full day of the campaign.
The platform says a Conservative government will act on the following:
- Engage countries in the Middle East, including by pursuing opportunities created by a warm Emirati-Israeli peace.
- Pursue reform of the UN Human Rights Council to prohibit gross human rights abusers from becoming members, engage regular emergency sessions to address human rights crises worldwide, and stop the council from unjustly singling out Israel.
- Canada’s Conservatives will always support Israel’s existence as a sovereign democratic Jewish state with the right to self-determination and to live in peace and security. To enhance the bilateral relationship and support Israel in the region, Canada’s Conservatives will:
- Set clear objectives to enhance economic, political, and security cooperation to benefit both countries.
- Recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the Canadian embassy to Jerusalem.
- Return Canada to its longstanding policy of not singling out Israel for criticism at the United Nations and international fora.
- Combat the delegitimization of Israel, including opposing the denial of the 5,000 years of indigenous Jewish history throughout the Middle East.
- Boycott Durban IV in September 2021.
- Oppose the International Criminal Court’s politicization and intrusion into bilateral Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
- Promote and support regional initiatives that foster peace between Israel and its neighbours.
To support the aspirations of the Palestinian people and a two-state solution leading to a Palestinian state, Canada’s Conservatives will:
- Support the current religious status quo surrounding Al-Aqsa/Temple Mount and recognize the special role that Jordan plays in the safeguarding of holy sites in Jerusalem.
- Establish a Canada-Palestinian Territories Trust Account at the International Monetary Fund, with the objective of providing training and economic instruments upon the arrival of a two-state solution.
- Invest in the economic empowerment of Palestinian women and support economic and civil society projects and an International Fund for Israeli-Palestinian Peace.
- Expand trade initiatives and encourage economic cooperation between Canada and the Palestinian territories and, following the establishment of a Palestinian state, negotiate a separate free-trade agreement.
- Following the successful negotiation of a final status agreement, upgrade Canada’s representation to an embassy to a future Palestinian state.
- Enhance aid in a targeted manner in the areas of governance and institutional capacity building in support of eventual Palestinian statehood.
