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Canada  

Harper, Trudeau pay respect

Both the current prime minister and former prime minster will attend the funeral for Shimon Peres.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is leading a Canadian delegation that includes former prime minister Jean Chretien, interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose and Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion to attend the funeral of Peres, the former Israeli prime minister and president who died Wednesday at 93.

Also in tow was Rafael Barak, Israel's ambassador to Canada, and representatives of Canadian advocacy groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B'Nai Brith Canada and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee.

Trudeau also invited Harper, who opted to fly commercial.

"Prime minister Harper was known for being very vocal about his support for Israel. But from a foreign policy perspective and a government policy perspective … the Trudeau government has proven to be a great friend of Israel as well," said CIJA spokesman Martin Sampson.

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose called Israel "a beacon of pluralism and democracy in a very difficult part of the world."

"All the more important for all of us, no matter what political party we come from, to attend these kind of events and honour a legacy like Shimon Peres."

Chretien called Peres a friend, "a great guy" and "a great public servant."

"When I quit, he gave me hell; (he) said, 'Winners never quit,' and he never quit," Chretien said.

Peres served two terms as Israeli prime minister and was also the country's president. He shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for negotiating the short lived Oslo Accords peace deal.

Other world figures planning to attend the funeral include U.S. President Barack Obama, former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Prince Charles and the presidents of France, Germany and Poland.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair was also invited, but declined due to a family commitment.



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