Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters Sunday he has agreed in principle to join U.S. President Donald Trump's controversial "Board of Peace," meant to support the reconstruction of Gaza.
Carney told reporters in Doha that Trump asked him about joining this board "a few weeks ago."
“There is a humanitarian tragedy in Gaza that is ongoing and Canada will make every effort possible to address this situation,“ he said at a news conference at an Islamic Art museum in the capital of the Gulf country.
He said the president put the question to him a few weeks ago and he said yes, and that he and Canada will do everything possible to bring peace to the region.
Trump has said other nations will need to pay $1 billion to have a permanent seat on the peace board, or be limited to a three-year term.
When challenged about the potential costs, Carney said there is still no unimpeded humanitarian aid flowing into help the people of Gaza and that is a “precondition for moving forward.”
The prime minister said details still need to be worked out on how exactly the board and the financing will work.
The Board of Peace is part of the Trump-brokered peace plan that saw a ceasefire take hold between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The creation of a new organization has raised concerns that it could deal a blow to the United Nations system of international cooperation that Trump has long argued is ineffective and dysfunctional, and place Trump in control of how the money is distributed.
The text of the charter, published by various international media outlets, states there is a “need for a more nimble and effective international peace-building body” than the UN.
The board will be chaired by Trump himself, and its executive makeup includes Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and former U.K. prime minister Tony Blair.
Earlier in the month, Trump withdrew from dozens of international organizations, many of which are related to the UN.
Carney said working through the peace board is “consistent” with Canadian goals to ensure "unimpeded" humanitarian aid can enter the territory and work toward a two-state solution.
“We will explore every avenue in order to do that,” he said.
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
