Key Liberal MP rips his government's policy on Gaza war in private call with constituent

A leaked recording of a phone call between a Liberal MP and a constituent reveals how deep the divisions run in the government caucus over Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's handling of the war in Gaza, the genocide case against Israel and the decision to defund a UN relief agency in the middle of a famine.Parliamentary Secretary to the minister of foreign affairs Rob Oliphant rises during question period in the House of Commons in Ottawa on Friday, June 7, 2019.

"My heart falls down in my body. My heart hurts, because the only way to get that aid there is UNRWA.He also revealed that he's considered quitting his job as Joly's parliamentary secretary. He also said he made no statements in that exchange that he would not be willing to defend in public."When I read that we were pausing money to UNRWA — I'm going to be very clear — it was political. And I don't just mean domestic politics. It has to do with our allies," Oliphant told his constituent. "I thought it was the wrong decision."

The Trudeau government cut off UNRWA on January 26 — the same day the ICJ found there were grounds to proceed with a genocide trial against Israel. "You don't stop aid to Gaza because of 12 or 13 employees out of 13,000. It drives me crazy," he said. "It is opportunistic, it is unfair, and it is maligning the operation of a UN organization that is doing, not perfect work — there's no organization that's made of human beings that's perfect, UNRWA has its faults. But it is the best we have for education, for medical care, for food, all of those things.

"We have half a million people at starvation levels. We're going to have cholera. We're going to have all kinds of things in Gaza. We need an immediate ceasefire." Ninety to 95 per cent of Canada's Jews are behind Israel right now, Oliphant said, adding, "I understand it." "I would not have done what the government did and I advised them not to do that, because I knew it would be misunderstood, and I think it was misunderstood as not agreeing with South Africa's case, and that could be perceived as not believing they should bring the case," Oliphant said on the call.

Oliphant stressed that he's not a legal expert and he was giving his own view, rather than that of the government. A Palestinian holds a child killed in the Israeli bombardment in Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024. "Mr. Speaker, let me be very clear. The funding that Canada is giving to civilians in Gaza has increased — just last week, $40 million more on top of the $60 million that was already there," he said. "This makes Canada a top donor for aid, helping with the crisis in Gaza. We are proud, and Canadians want us to help.

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