Political watchers have differing concerns over dual Canadian-Lebanese citizens flying to Lebanon this week on free tickets to vote in parliamentary elections.

As CBC News reported on Monday, corporations who support major political parties in Lebanon are paying for expatriates to return to the country to cast ballots in the June 7 election.

Hundreds of people in Calgary, as well as thousands from across Canada, have been flying into Lebanon this week, backed by supporters of a pro-Western alliance trying to take power away from a Hezbollah-dominated coalition. Dual citizens must be physically present in Lebanon to cast a ballot in its elections.

University of Calgary associate professor and terrorism expert Gavin Cameron said the Canadian government should be concerned if it turns out that Hezbollah is also paying for trips for its supporters.

'Lebanese who live abroad, who have another citizenship, who for all intents and purposes will not have to be accountable or suffer the consequences of the choice they make.'—Marie-Joelle Zahar, political science professor

"If you have an organization that has been identified as a terrorist organization providing funding to Canadian citizens, that's an issue for concern," he said on Monday.

The impact of foreign citizens voting in Lebanon's election can also be problematic, said Marie-Joelle Zahar, a political science professor at the Université de Montréal and a former journalist who covered the Lebanese civil war.

"Lebanese who live abroad, who have another citizenship, who for all intents and purposes will not have to be accountable or suffer the consequences of the choice they make," she said in an interview with CBC News.

Louis Delvoie, a former Canadian ambassador to Algeria who worked for Foreign Affairs in Lebanon, has similar concerns.

"There is a question of divided loyalties that does come into play," he said. "Should you be required, on assuming Canadian citizenship, to renounce your previous citizenship? In some instances it obviously poses major problems."

In 2006, the government of Canada spent about $94 million rescuing nearly 15,000 Canadians from Lebanon during prolonged violence between Israel and Hezbollah militants.

Delvoie said he doesn't anticipate the federal Conservative government changing citizenship rules any time soon: "This is highly politicized in Canada. They're not going to frontally address the question of dual citizenship for fear of alienating immigrant communities."

With files from Erin Collins