McG
Army.ca Legend
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This is the first time I’ve seen in print that the PM does want to press ahead with the military mission. This is reassuring. It is the right thing to do. Lets hope we start to hear this more often and lets hope that it is the signal that the information campaign is about to start informing Canadians.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20070909/harper_afghan_070909/20070909?hub=TopStoriesNo rush on Afghan mission extension vote: Harper
Updated Sun. Sep. 9 2007 11:48 AM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said there will be no parliamentary vote on Canada's role in Afghanistan unless an opposition party supports his desire to extend the mission after February 2009.
Harper told reporters after the APEC Summit in Sydney, Australia that there is no rush for a debate or vote.
He wants Canada to "finish the job" in Afghanistan.
Canadian troops have been in Afghanistan since late 2001 and began their current assignment in insurgent-ridden Kandahar province in February 2006.
The Liberal Opposition -- which sent Canadian troops to Afghanistan while in government -- wants to introduce a motion early in the fall session of Parliament that will seek a vote to confirm Canada's military mission will end as scheduled.
The Canadian mission had originally been scheduled to end in February 2007, but in May 2006, Parliament voted 149-145 to extend it for another two years.
The Bloc Quebecois wants to see the mission end in February 2009, and the NDP has called for Canada's combat role in Afghanistan to end immediately.
In an interview broadcast Sept. 1 on CTV's Question Period, Defence Minister Peter MacKay said NATO knows it cannot count on Canada's troops remaining in Kandahar province after February 2009.
"The signal that has been sent already is that our current configuration will end in February, 2009. Obviously the aid work and the diplomatic effort and presence will extend well beyond that. The Afghan compact itself goes until 2011," he said.
"But the way the mission is currently configured, with respect to our presence in Kandahar, there is an expiration date that has been set."
A spokesman later said that the minister meant that NATO knows the Canadian mission is scheduled to end in 2009, and that a parliamentary vote is required for an extension.
Liberal Leader Stephane Dion accused the Tories of trying to confuse Canadians on where they really stood.
Parliament resumes sitting on Oct. 16.