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TORONTO — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper suggested to a Toronto rally Wednesday night that other parties can't be trusted to defend Israel like he does.
He recounted his experience at the 2006 Francophonie summit where he refused to sign on to a declaration condemning Israel over the Israel-Lebanon conflict.
“I had one of the most difficult days as your prime minister at the last Francophonie summit,” Mr. Harper said.
“I found myself caught in the centre of a case of political correctness gone mad.”
He said many foreign leaders “demanded” Canada sign the statement, one he said “would have singled Israel out for condemnation for having defended its democracy against the terrorism of Hezbollah – an organization that wants it wiped from the face of the earth.”
To rising applause, Mr. Harper declared: “I did not sign that and I will not sign that.”
The Conservative Leader asked the crowd to question whether other parties would have done the same thing for Israel.
“Do you really know – do your friends and neighbours and work colleagues really know – where our opponents stand? ... What do you think they would have done in that kind of situation with that kind of pressure at the Francophonie?”
Mr. Harper said he can even recall other parties marching in rallies that celebrated Hezbollah. (“They were actually going and marching in the streets beside the flags of Hezbollah,” the Tory leader said.
He suggested other parties have opposed many of his key foreign policy moves.
“They are the same commentators who condemn me when I stand beside the Dalai Lama, when we cut off aid to Hamas, when we took a tough line against the government of Zimbabwe, when we refused to participate in the Durban conference.”
This was Mr. Harper's first campaign speech to address foreign relations and the first time he talked publicly about the Francophonie summit, Tory aides said.
“As Conservatives, as prime minister, I believe our foreign policy is not just about getting along and going along. It is to use this country's assets and good will to stand for something.”
