MPs debated a federal government motion today seeking an extension and expansion of Canada’s anti-ISIS mission in the Middle East.
MPs began debating the motion in the House of Commons shortly after 10:15 a.m.
The motion, tabled by the government on Tuesday, extends the mission to a “date not beyond March 30, 2016,” and calls for airstrikes to expand to include targets in Syria.
Some of the arguments made by MPs from all sides of the House were captured below in our live blog before daily question period began as scheduled at 2 p.m.
1:57 P.M. Joyce Murray cites a report today from the Parliamentary Budget Officer that says Canada’s defence costs are ‘unsustainable’ over the next decade.
1:40 P.M. Scott says “there are good reasons” that the Official Opposition is seeking “legal clarity” and is asking to see the legal opinions for expanding the mission into Syria.
Nicholson replies that the government is on the same legal footing as the U.S, “and Iraq has asked for help."
1:30 P.M. NDP MP Craig Scott says an attempt to look at lawfulness of the mission as beneath debate in the House “is degrading to democratic discourse.”
Scott accuses the federal government of failing to consider the legality of expanding the mission into Syria, and rushing to use the U.S. mission as its justification.
“The legality is an after-thought,” Scott says.
1:27 P.M. Julian Fantino is up now. "Most Canadians are on side," he says of the government's plan, after citing a long list of atrocities in Iraq and Syria.
12:57 P.M. Blaney says Canada “has to work on both fronts” in combatting ISIS. Fighting home-grown terrorism, but also go overseas and fight terror abroad.
12:54 P.M. NDP MP Francoise Boivin asks why the federal government’s motion to extend and expand the mission does not mention dealing with radicalism at home.
Blaney responds that the government has a strategy to curb home-grown terrorism, but accuses the NDP of voting against its anti-terror measures.
12:48 P.M. “This young man was assassinated by another terrorist who was inspired by the extremist ideology of the Islamic State,” Blaney says of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, who was killed in last year’s attack in Ottawa.
“Canada cannot stand aside and do nothing,” Blaney says.
12:46 P.M. Blaney is speaking about the attacks in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and at the National War Memorial in Ottawa. "We have the moral responsibility" to ensure that such attacks never happen again, he says.
12:41 P.M. Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney is up to speak now.
11:52 A.M. The best way to defeat terrorism in this region, May says, quoting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, is through a strategy of political inclusion.
As a community of nations, we must work to end the threat of ISIS, Boko Haram, and other groups “as yet unnamed,” and this motion “does not do that,” she says.
11:48 A.M. May says that under the “responsibility to protect” principles, Canada could have gone into Syria four years ago to help Syrians suffering under the brutality of leader Bashar al-Assad.
“We’ve turned a blind eye for the cries of help from the rebel forces of Syria and those who want to get rid of Assad,” she says.
Now, Canada has to go into Syria without legal justification, and “we have to hope” that Syrian government aircraft don’t shoot down Canadian planes.
11:43 A.M. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May begins by condemning the “disrespectful patterns” of discourse during the debate. “We should be able to discuss this like grown-ups,” she says.
“I don’t think anyone in this place thinks that Canada should do nothing,” she says, or underestimates the threat of ISIS.
11:39 A.M. Conservative MP Harold Albrecht says in order to deliver humanitarian aid, “you need security” so NGOs can “deliver aid to the people who need it.”
Says Canada has previously pledged $40 million to Iraq, and another $25 million to surrounding countries.
Murray responds by noting that there isn’t a new pledge of humanitarian aid in the current motion.
11:36 A.M. Deputy Speaker Joe Comartin reminds MPs that this isn't question period and asks for greater decorum, after Kenney heckles Murray while she speaks.
11:30 A.M. Kenney responds to Murray’s speech by saying that Canada has resettled more than 20,000 Iraqi refugees. Kenney says he has met with some of them in recent days, and they support the government’s current motion to expand its anti-ISIS mission.
He also says again that it is military action that will stop the creation of more refugees.
11:28 A.M. Third, Canada should increase numbers for settling refugees. She notes that Canada accepted 50,000 Vietnamese refugees over two years in the 1970s.
Murray concludes by noting that of the four resolutions in the government's motion, the Liberals support the fourth: support for Canada's soldiers.
11:25 A.M. Second, Canada can lead a humanitarian effort to help those suffering in the region. UNHCR says that 3.8 million Syrians are now listed as refugees, while 12 million displaced people need help within Syria, Murray says.
The refugee crisis is threatening security and stability in the region, she says.
11:22 A.M. Liberal MP Joyce Murray says there are three things that Liberals do support. First, if Canada works with allies to increase training of more Iraqi soldiers. “Surely there is a need for more trainers,” Murray says. Canada supplied 1,000 in final years in Afghanistan, she notes.
11:13 A.M. Murray up again, to say that Liberal MPs do not support the motion “because it is not in the Canadian interest.”
ISIS is a serious threat, and Canada must “play a constructive role” in combatting it, she says. But the new motion proposed by the prime minister “does not measure up.” Unclear legal justification, unclear scope and it “fails the national interest test.”
11:11 A.M. NDP MP Eve Peclet accuses the federal government of refusing to help Turkey and Lebanon as they took in refugees from Syria’s civil war. Now, four years later, Peclet says, the federal government is recognizing a humanitarian catastrophe.
Dewar follows up to say the federal government “comes to things late in the game.”
11:08 A.M. Liberal MP Joyce Murray is up again to ask Dewar whether the NDP is opposed to all aspects of a military mission, even if it were well behind the front lines?
Dewar replies that “we would take our soldiers out of theatre.”
11:04 A.M. Defence Minister Jason Kenney is up now, saying that it is military action that will prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing, sexual slavery and other war crimes. “Had we not begun this military operation months ago, there may have been tens of thousands of additional victims” of ISIS.
11:02 A.M. The amendments call for an end to airstrikes, and for the government to ramp up humanitarian and diplomatic efforts.
10:59 A.M. Dewar proposes NDP amendments to the motion under debate.
10:53 A.M. “The truth is that most of those in need in Iraq are not in ISIS-controlled territory. They are refugees and internally displaced persons whose livelihoods have been stolen from them by chaos and carnage,” Dewar says.
10:51 A.M. “By bombing in Syria, we reduce the prospects for a lasting political solution” to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Dewar says.
10:47 A.M. Canada must act in a way that it can to best add value to the coalition, and “respects international law and our values as a country,” Dewar says.
Concerns he highlighted when initial mission was proposed are the same now, he says. “The new notion does not rule out the possibility of deploying ground combat troops in the future,” Dewar says.
10:43 A.M. Up now is NDP MP Paul Dewar, who says that there should be no doubt that the opposition believes that “the crimes perpetrated by ISIS are appalling and abhorrent.”
The situation in Iraq and Syria “demands an international response,” Dewar says.
10:42 A.M. Green Party Leader Elizabeth May asks if Canada has "any idea how this will play out in international law." Canada is sending soldiers into harm's way to help the Assad regime, she says.
10:40 A.M. “We have been very clear that (ISIS) is a direct threat to Canada,” Nicholson says. We have “seen their rhetoric, we have seen their actions.”
Canada is supporting the coalition to protect civilians in Iraq and Syria, but also protecting ourselves.
10:38 A.M. ISIS should not have a “free ride” in Syria because Canada doesn’t support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Nicholson says. Canada can’t allow ISIS to have a “safe haven” in the region.
10:35 A.M. Liberal MP Joyce Murray is up now to ask for clarification of the meaning of “on the ground objectives.” Degrading ISIS “is pretty broad,” she says. Murray also asks about an exit strategy, and who would be in power if militants pushed out of Syria.
10:33 A.M. “This mission has no end,” Harris says. He asks for defined objectives, “so that the people of Canada might know how long we are going to be in this war.”
Nicholson responds that the government has been open about the mission’s details.
Up now is NDP MP Jack Harris.
10:31 A.M. “We may either stand on the sidelines, or take real and measured actions. (ISIS’) barbarity is an affront to human dignity and to the civilized world,” Nicholson says.
10:30 A.M. “The airstrikes have one goal and one goal only, and that is to degrade ISIS,” Nicholson says.
10:29 A.M. Nicholson promises “large-scale humanitarian assistance” to help victims of ISIS. No specifics.
10:24 A.M. “As this menace grows, so to does our responsibility to act, to do our part in defence of human dignity and values,” Nicholson says. "ISIS has declared war on Canada...and seeks to wage its jihad against our people."
10:20 A.M. “Although the threat of terrorism continues to evolve, our reaction to this threat persists as the greatest test of this generation,” Nicholson says.
10:18 A.M. First up to speak is Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson.
10:16 A.M. The Speaker is reading the motion out loud in the House of Commons. The debate is just about underway.
