MP apologizes after calling colleagues ‘arrogant’ on video
Disagreed with genocide claim against Israel
• The parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly has apologized to two Liberal Muslim MPS after he was seen referring to his colleagues as “arrogant” for calling on Canada to back South Africa’s claim of genocide against Israel, National Post has learned.
Rob Oliphant, who has been a parliamentary secretary since 2019, has been under fire this past week for a leaked conversation obtained by CBC News showing him criticizing his government’s approach to the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
But in another video with a different constituent that surfaced this week on social media, Oliphant is seen seemingly criticizing his fellow MPS Salma Zahid and Iqra Khalid.
National Post obtained the extended footage of the video to verify the accuracy of the exchanges.
A spokesperson for Joly’s office said Oliphant had conversations with both Zahid and Khalid on Friday evening, “including to apologize for the hurt this video may have caused.”
Zahid said in an emailed statement that she has known Oliphant for many years before serving together in Parliament and that they have had the opportunity to work together on a number of issues over the years.
“The Liberals are a party that welcomes and encourages a wide range of perspectives and encourages healthy debate and diverse opinions. I welcome those debates with my colleagues,” she said.
“I’ve spoken with Rob about the video in question. I believe it does not accurately reflect their conversation and does not represent what I know to be Rob’s views."
Khalid was not immediately available to comment on their colleague’s apology.
The video was taken by a constituent on Jan. 13 at Don Valley West New Year’s levee that Oliphant co-hosted with Liberal MPP Stephanie Bowman at the Toronto Botanical Garden.
In the first half of the video, the camera is facing down, showing only Oliphant’s kilt, legs and feet. His constituent asks if he supports Zahid and Khalid in asking for the Trudeau government to support South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The government chose an apparent position of neutrality at the time by saying it believes in the importance of the ICJ but that does not mean that it supports South Africa’s claim that Israel’s actions are aimed to bring about the “destruction of the population” of Gaza.
The ICJ ruling on Jan. 26 ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent genocide and to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance in Gaza but did not order Israel to halt its military campaign, as was requested by South Africa.
“I would never declare genocide unless I was in a court of law and I have all the evidence,” said Oliphant. “I disagree completely with some of my colleagues who are so arrogant.”
He adds that he puts “the blame squarely on Hamas” for the deaths in the Gaza Strip.
Oliphant also mentioned that he has lived in Ramallah, in the West Bank, and challenged his constituent: “Have you been there? I mean, what we want is truth. I don’t want opinion.”
Later, the MP is seen with his full face, and is asked by another unidentified individual if he will call Israel’s actions a genocide if the ICJ determines that it is the case, which could take years.
“You asked me if the court determines it, will I agree with it? Yes, absolutely,” he said.
Near the end of the exchange, Oliphant said that he has Palestinian constituents and Palestinian friends and encourages the unidentified individual to not “put words in their mouth” when told that his Palestinian entourage must be “very disappointed” in his response.
The private conversation leaked to CBC revealed that Oliphant had criticized his government’s decision to defund UNRWA, the United Nations’ relief agency for Gaza, in the middle of a famine and that he had also considered stepping down as parliamentary secretary.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not directly say if Oliphant can stay on as a parliamentary secretary when asked during a press conference in Winnipeg on Thursday, but reiterated that the diversity of MPS in his caucus reflect the wide range of perspectives across the country.
“The kind of conversations that go on within our party are not always easy. But they reflect that diversity of conversations happening across the country,” he said.
Other Liberals have defended Oliphant, saying that he has extensive knowledge on international files as parliamentary secretary for the past five years and that he should not necessarily be removed from his role based on private comments that were leaked.
“I’ve said dumb things before, so I don’t see why he could not stay,” said Liberal MP Francis Drouin. “He is doing a good job, he has been doing it for a long time, so he has a good corporate memory within Global Affairs.”
Liberal MP John Mackay also answered “yes” when asked if Oliphant should stay on as parliamentary secretary.
Zahid said this week the decision to stay on or not is his decision but offered a word of advice. “I always say what I believe in. What I say to my constituents, I say it here,” she told reporters.