CanWest: Canadian Muslims dismiss Harper government for 'lack' of Mideast policy

[tuvor]

OTTAWA - As Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier begins his first Middle East tour, Canadian Muslims have written off trying to engage the Harper Conservatives on the troubled region.

The Canadian Islamic Congress says it has been continually snubbed by the Conservative government and says it has abandoned trying to influence Canada's efforts to play a role in the Middle East peace process until the next federal election in Canada.

"We gave up on having a constructive dialogue with the current government on any foreign policy issue," Mohammed Elmasry, president of the CIC, said in an interview Tuesday as Bernier began a six-day trip that was to start today in Saudi Arabia.

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The CIC says that the two men (Bernier and Peter MacKay) who have served as foreign ministers in the Conservative government have refused to meet members of their organization.

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