WORLD_ CANADA_ Government will hold vote in Parliament before launching airstrikes: Baird

THE GLOBE AND MAIL

Government will hold vote in Parliament before launching airstrikes: Baird

Kim Mackrael New York — The Globe and Mail
Published Thursday, Sep. 25 2014, 7:17 PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Sep. 25 2014, 8:00 PM EDT


The Conservative government would hold a vote in Parliament before launching any combat mission in Syria and Iraq, including airstrikes, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird says.

His comments came one day after Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada had received a request from the United States to increase its contribution to the military mission in Iraq. Mr. Harper said at the time that he would discuss the matter with his cabinet before commenting further on what the government is considering.

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Canada has contributed dozens of special forces to a U.S.-led effort to battle Islamic State militants in Iraq. The troops are acting in an advisory role and were initially assigned for a 30-day period, the government has said.

Mr. Harper would not reveal the contents of the letter on Wednesday, saying since the U.S. had not released its contents, he would not do so either. “The United States just recently in the last couple of days has asked for some additional contribution and we’re weighing our response to that,” Mr. Harper said.

However, a media report on Wednesday raised questions about who had initiated the conversation about Canada providing more military assistance. A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defence told Global News that Canada had asked the U.S. for more details on how it could assist, and the U.S. responded with a letter laying out areas where Canadian contributions would be helpful.

Jason MacDonald, a spokesperson for the Prime Minister, said the two governments have had regular conversations about how Canada could help and the request for more information was needed so the government could consider what it might be able to provide.

The U.S. Department of Defence did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Globe and Mail.
Mr. Baird said on Thursday that the government has been “very clear” that it would go before Parliament and hold a vote on any combat mission in Iraq or Syria. Asked by if an escalation in the battle against IS involving airstrikes would amount to a combat mission, Mr. Baird said they “absolutely” would.

Mr. Harper revealed on Wednesday that said Canadian forces have been working in Iraq for several weeks and are currently the second-largest force, after the United States, working in support of Iraqi troops. The troops are working in an advisory role, supporting Kurdish security troops who are fighting against Islamic State militants.

The Prime Minister said the goal of the military operation is to ensure that terrorist organizations are not able to operate in the open.

“We haven’t ruled out anything,” Mr. Harper said during a one-on-one interview with The Wall Street Journal on stage in front of an audience. “We need to have some additional debate within our government before we reach a final decision.”

The opposition NDP has been calling on the Conservative government to bring the mission to Parliament for a vote. Mr. Baird said on Wednesday that the government would do so for a combat mission.

“There’s no constitutional requirement, there’s no law,” on holding a vote, Mr. Baird said. “This is something that the Prime Minister has sought, whether it’s two or three occasions with respect to Canada’s mission in Afghanistan and then with respect to the mission in Libya and the renewal of that mission.”

Follow Kim Mackrael on Twitter: @kimmackrael

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