Here is a story from the Canadian Jewish News:
PM expresses sympathy for Shalit
By Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf, Staff Reporter
Thursday, 26 August 2010
TORONTO — Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he wishes Canada could do more for kidnapped Israel Defence Forces soldier Gilad Shalit.
He made the remark while on a stopover in Toronto last week, where he attended a “cultural media roundtable” for reporters representing the city’s faith communities.
Aside from The CJN, present at the table were journalists from Indian, Sikh, Italian, Polish, Greek, Korean, Chinese and Caribbean news outlets.
The CJN was allowed two questions, both of which were submitted ahead of time.
Asked about what Canada is doing to help Israel secure information about the condition of kidnapped Israel Defence Forces soldier Gilad Shalit – a captive of Hamas in Gaza for more than four years – Harper said he wished there was more to be done.
“We have called repeatedly for his release, [but] the regime that holds him is not one that is terribly given to respond to international pressure or respect international law in any way, shape or form,” Harper said.
“We have great sympathy for him, his family and all those who know him. He stands as a symbol and remembrance that terrorism is a very real fact in Israel’s day-to-day existence. He is a symbol of that reality and of the complete lawlessness of those in that region who threaten Israel’s existence.”
Regarding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s quest to acquire nuclear weapons, Harper was asked whether he thinks the government’s recently augmented economic sanctions against Iran are working and whether there’s a set time frame to allow political deterrence to work before more action is taken.
He said the Canadian government continues to be “very worried” about Ahmadinejad’s regime, although it has “no quarrel” with the Iranian people.
“We sympathize deeply with the widespread democratic and human rights abuses that exist within that country. That said, that regime, in our opinion, unequivocally wants to gain nuclear weapons. And Iran gaining this capacity, would be a very grave security threat to the region and the world.”
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