The Canadian government dawdled last weekend while other countries began putting together evacuation plans in Lebanon, says Liberal MP Scott Brison.
"During a time when minutes and hours counted, this government took days just to develop a basic plan," Mr. Brison said Thursday in an interview with The Chronicle Herald.
"It's that kind of dawdling that is unacceptable during a crisis."
There are an estimated 50,000 Canadians in Lebanon. About 30,000 have registered with the Canadian embassy in Beirut.
Ottawa has chartered ships to ferry Canadians from Beirut to Cyprus and Turkey.
The first ship, carrying 261 Canadians, left Wednesday -- seven days after Israel launched a military offensive against Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon.
Six vessels sailed Thursday with 1,375 Canadians on board, with three ships scheduled to leave Friday and three more today.
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay has hailed his department's effort, calling it "the biggest civilian evacuation in our country's history."
But Mr. Brison said other countries "have done a better job and acted more immediately," singling out Denmark, France, Great Britain and Russia.
"I think the Harper government has let Canadians and Lebanese-Canadians in Lebanon down," he said.
"There was a time that the Canadian passport helped protect the security of Canadians travelling abroad. In Lebanon today, under the Harper government, the passport is a ticket to the back of the line."
In Halifax, Mayor Peter Kelly said Friday that the city will offer whatever help it can.
"I understand that 400 to 500 individuals from Halifax are in Lebanon and are trying to find their way home," he said.
It's unclear whether a Halifax university student who says she has deadly allergies and asthma has been able to get out of Lebanon.
"I am very ill and am finding it difficult to breathe," Natalie Ghosn, 21, said Wednesday in an e-mail to The Herald.
"My asthma medication has run out and I have only one epinephrine pen with me in case of emergencies. I do not speak the language here, it is dangerous for me to move around the country and hospitals are overloaded."
Ms. Ghosn, a political science student at Dalhousie University, was in Lebanon for a two-week vacation when Israel started bombing the country.
She said Foreign Affairs red-flagged her file because of her medical conditions and placed her on an emergency evacuation list.
Ms. Ghosn was disappointed that she wasn't placed on the first ship out of Lebanon.
A message on the Foreign Affairs website Friday encouraged Canadian citizens awaiting evacuation to be patient and wait for a phone call from embassy staff before proceeding to the crowded port area in Beirut.
sbruce@herald.ca
Picture: AP Photo/Ben Curtis
