Rescue of Dual Citizens From Conflict Zones

"The half-empty evacuation flights certainly underscores why the government is being so aggressive in communicating the need to leave now on available commercial flights."

"As for the poll, those results may come into play should commercial evacuation options cease to be variable and the government has to orchestrate a more deliberate evacuation at their own expense."

"Based on the results, there may be some pushback to this in the general public."

Andrew Enns, executive vice-president, Leger Polling 

Smoke rises at the site of Israeli airstrikes in Beirut's southern suburbs, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. Photo by Hussein Malla /THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Through its foreign affairs department website [Global Affairs Canada] the government of Canada has given notice to Lebanese-Canadians -- which is to say citizens of Lebanon who also have achieved dual Canadian citizenship -- to evacuate from Lebanon, for the past year. Ever since the de facto government of Lebanon, Hezbollah, began lobbing rockets at northern Israel, compelling Israel to return the compliment, since October 8, 2023. A low-grade conflict ensued in the wake of the Hamas incursion of thousands of terrorists into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, when 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 250 taken hostage.

Since that dread day in Jewish history that saw Israeli girls and women raped, mutilated, children and entire families burned alive in their homes, infants, the elderly and women taken into Gaza by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorists, aided and abetted by ordinary Gazans celebrating the mass murder and torture of Jews, Israel's military has been focused on its primary goal of eliminating the threat that Hamas poses to Israel and its citizenry. Hezbollah's intervention to distract from that goal faithfully followed the same pattern of threat, incitement, attack and defense.

Despite which those holding Canadian passports have been in no great rush to leave Lebanon, their preferred place of residence. With their dual citizenship status, Lebanese-Canadians seem content to sit out the conflict brought to them by Hezbollah, but the government of Canada has been exerting itself to influence them to return to Canada by available commercial flights, for months. Few have evinced interest, leading the government to reserve seats for them and urging they be used. In the circumstances these are not flights to Canada, but to area destinations like Turkey from which they must then make arrangements to travel on to Canada on their own. And repay the government for the commercial flights.

Which has left Canada in the position of airlifting hundreds out of Lebanon who hold Canadian citizenship. A situation that has over half of the Canadian population feeling the country owes no protection to citizens who determine of their own accord to remain in conflict zones, warnings aside. The survey identifies 34 percent of respondents feel the federal government has a responsibility to protect and evacuate its citizens. 

Roughly 900 airline seats were booked by Canada between Friday and Sunday, foreign affairs continuing to urge Lebanese-Canadians to advantage themselves to the available seats. Two decades ago there was a similar airlift during a conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. Over $85 million was spent by   Canada to evacuate 15,000 people. Most of whom speedily returned to Lebanon at the first opportunity, post-conflict.

Among Canadians there is a debate whether Canadians who choose to remain in high-risk conflict zones should expect to receive the federal government's protection. Among younger and older Canadians opinion varied widely; 49 percent of people between 18 to 25 years of age feeling the country has a responsibility to protect its citizens in conflict zones, as opposed to 70 percent of people 55 and older who feel the government has no such responsibility.

The sexes were close to evenly split against providing protection; 37 percent of men felt Canada ha a duty whereas 30 percent of  women felt the same. 

Fire and smoke rise over Beirut's southern suburbs after an airstrike amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon, on Oct. 3, 2024. (Amr Abdallah Dalsh/Reuters)