Canada has joined the previously announced statement put out by the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan about the ongoing situation with the Strait of Hormuz.The statement had been released Thursday morning as a joint statement of the major Western powers not involved in the conflict, signalling their willingness to "contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait."After its publication, Canada then announced that it would be joining the six other countries in this joint statement.The statement says that the now seven nations "condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces."This statement comes as the global energy industry continues to buckle as the Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime shipping route for the oil and gas industry, has vastly increased the price of oil and gas.It is unclear what the nations mean when they say that they "express (their) readiness" to ensure safe passage, but statements like this signal that the war is having an effect, not just on the nations involved and Gulf countries being hit, but on the rest of the world that depends on Middle Eastern oil and gas.This announcement also comes after sustained comments from the Canadian government that Canada would not be getting involved in this conflict.Due to this, it can be assumed that any Canadian involvement would be diplomatic rather than militaristic.
