Embattled Liberal MP Borys Wrzesnewskyj has resigned as deputy foreign affairs critic following the uproar over his comments suggesting Canada should negotiate with Hezbollah.

Wrzesnewskyj found himself distanced from his own party when he made the statement during a fact-finding mission to Lebanon last week.

"His comments, which were not representative of the Liberal party, caused a lot of concern," Liberal MP Keith Martin told CTV News.

Wrzesnewskyj tendered his resignation on Wednesday and interim Liberal Leader Bill Graham said his resignation was accepted.

After the Toronto MP suggested the Mideast peace process would benefit from Canada being more open to talking to Hezbollah, Liberal leadership hopefuls Scott Brison and Carolyn Bennett had immediately demanded Wrzesnewskyj step down from his post, saying his comments were "unacceptable."

The comments quickly became the central topic of the three-day Liberal caucus retreat in Vancouver, which was supposed to be a strategy session for the upcoming session of Parliament.

All 10 leadership candidates condemned the remarks, including Wrzesnewskyj's preferred candidate Gerard Kennedy.

At a news conference Tuesday, Tory MP Jason Kenney, parliamentary secretary to the prime minister, blasted Wrzesnewskyj, calling his comments nothing short of a sign of support for terrorist groups.

"Their idea of a balanced approach is one where Israel is always wrong," said Kenney. "This represents a totally irresponsible approach to foreign security policy."

Wrzesnewskyj, who was one of three opposition MPs on the Mideast mission, said Monday he favoured changing a Canadian law that forbids contact with known terrorist organizations.

He said the law undermines efforts to obtain lasting peace between Israel and Hezbollah fighters.

Wrzesnewskyj denied media reports that claimed he wants Hezbollah taken off Ottawa's official list of terrorist organizations.

"I've said all along that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and will continue to be," Wrzesnewskyj told reporters.

"Where I have difficulty is with the legislation that says a group on the list cannot be communicated with."

Hezbollah on terror list

Graham issued a statement late Monday that did not refer directly to the Wrzesnewskyj controversy, but affirmed his party's commitment to keeping Hezbollah on the official terror list.

"The Liberal Party of Canada ... originally listed Hezbollah as a terrorist organization under Canadian law and ... we still strongly support keeping Hezbollah on that list," said Graham.

"Any suggestion to the contrary does not reflect the official position of our party.''

But Graham also took a shot at the Conservatives, saying that at least, unlike the government, Liberals are allowed to speak freely.

"You'll be able to go out and interview them... nobody's got them locked up in a bus and thrown away the key, the way (it was done) at a recent caucus of the Conservatives," Graham told reporters Tuesday.

The fact-finding Mideast mission, which was also attended by Bloc Quebecois MP Maria Mourani and New Democrat MP Peggy Nash, was organized by the National Council on Canada Arab-Relations.

It was supposed to be an all-party affair until Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro backed out, citing security reasons.

The MPs visited the Lebanese towns of Qana, Bint Jbeil and Aytaroun. Qana was the scene of the single deadliest attack by Israel. It was hit by a missile which destroyed a building where civilians had been hiding, killing 28.

With a report by CTV's Graham Richardson