Canada Demands Israel Renounces Nukes

In distinction to Stephen Harper's high profile sophistry about the pre-1967 borders at Deauville, Canada stood with nearly all nations of the world in support of nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East.

Included in Resolution 65/88, adopted December 8, 2010, are clauses specific to Israel:

"The General Assembly...

"Recalling that Israel remains the only State in the Middle East that has not yet become a party to the [Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons]...

"Reaffirms the importance of Israel's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and placement of all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, in realizing the goal of universal adherence to the Treaty in the Middle East;

"Calls upon that State to accede to the Treaty without further delay, not to develop, produce, test, or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope Agency safeguards..."

All nations—including DPR Korea and Iran—voted in favour of this resolution except for Israel and India, who voted against it, and Pakistan, Bhutan, Cote d'Ivoire who abstained. Unsurprisingly, India and Pakistan, wanting to shield nuclear programs of their own from scrutiny, decided to align with Israel's rejection of oversight, despite being the second and third most populous Moslem nations in the world: Pakistan, 174m Moslems; India, 161m Moslems.

CBC Perpetuates Myth Of Harper Opposing 1967 Borders For Israel

In a report on CBC's website today, a caption beneath a photo of Harper at the G8 read as follows:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper confirmed that Canada had objected to any language in the final communiqué that included mention of Israel's pre-1967 borders at the G8 meeting in Deauville, France, May, 2011."

In actuality, when pressed by Terry Milewski at that conference, Harper acknowledged that Canada's position on Israel—with support for UN Resolution 242 and support for a two-state solution—is long-standing and that he is not deviating from it. Moreover, Harper signed the Deauville declaration which states the signatories' "strong support for the vision of Israeli-Palestinian peace outlined by President Obama on May 19, 2011." That "vision" explicitly supports the use of the pre-1967 borders as the starting point for any negotiation.