Well said Peter MacKay

Peter MacKay made some good statements as he weathered the Opposition's barage in committee today.

The minister was asked several times why Canada won’t call for an immediate ceasefire to which MacKay responded there is no point in calling for a ceasefire unless there is a plan for lasting peace to back it up.

“Simply mouthing the words ceasefire, is not going to make it happen. A ceasefire cannot occur with only one party participating in a ceasefire,” he said, adding Hezbollah has made no efforts to enter talks and appears to be the only party that wants the violence to continue.

He called the group, which is listed by Canada as a terrorist organization, a “cancer on Lebanon.”

MacKay reiterated the government’s position of siding with Israel in the conflict but also said it has joined the international community in asking Israel to exercise the “utmost restraint” in its strikes on Lebanon in order to avoid civilian deaths and injuries.

“Lebanon and Israel have suffered enough,” he told the committee. “The killing has to stop.”

UPDATE: LOL! Gotta love MacKay... here's another exchange from that meeting...

In a testy exchange with Liberal MP Dan McTeague, MacKay defended his own handling of the crisis, particularly when it first began.

"Where were you for the first four days of this crisis?" McTeague asked, referring to MacKay's initial lack of visibility.

"I was on the job," MacKay shot back. "You may have been on TV, but I was meeting with officials."

Via CBC. h/t to Alberta Tory.