The federal government paid to have a “high-speed” ship on stand-by to evacuate Canadians in Lebanon, then later canceled the $440,000-a-week contract after five weeks, deciding it wasn’t needed after all, officials say.
Joining with one or more other countries to put the ship on retainer — and later scrapping the deal — underscores the tricky logistical and political challenges Ottawa faces around the conflict on Israel’s border with Lebanon.
