Apart from the issue of the costing of fighter jets, there has been virtually no discussion of foreign policy issues in the present federal election campaign in Canada. An important exception was the release of a statement by the New Democratic Party, which is poised to become, for the first time, the official opposition in Canada’s next Parliament or could well even to form the government soon after the election. The NDP and its leader Jack Layton have put out a press release on the just-released UN Panel of Experts report on Sri Lanka. The New Democrats support the Panel’s call for the creation of an international institutional mechanism for investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity regarding Sri Lanka. With all eyes focused on the polling numbers and the governing Conservatives’ record in office in Canada, it is heartening to see a party making Sri Lanka such a priority in the final days of an intense election campaign.
For the entire NDP statement, please see: http://www.ndp.ca/press/ndp-statement-on-un-panel-report-on-accountability-for-war-crimes-in-sri-lanka