Trudeau says Canada prepared to stay in Kabul after Aug. 31 following G7 meeting

OTTAWA -

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is prepared to keep its military personnel in Afghanistan after an Aug. 31 American deadline.

Trudeau made the announcement after meeting Tuesday in a virtual summit with fellow G7 leaders who were convening to discuss the crisis and the re-emergence of the Taliban as the country's rulers.

Going into the meeting, Trudeau played his cards close to his chest on whether he wanted the G7 to push for an extension of the American military commitment to Afghanistan.

But afterwards, as he was about to board a federal election campaign bus in Hamilton, he said Canada was prepared to stay longer, if possible, past the Aug. 31 deadline.

"We're going to continue to work every single day to get as many people out alongside our allies. The commitment by our fellow G7 nations is clear: we're all going to work together to save as many people as possible," Trudeau said.

President Joe Biden had been expected to face calls from some fellow leaders in the special virtual G7 meeting to extend the U.S. military commitment to the country beyond his Aug. 31 deadline. The Taliban has said that the deadline is firm and hinted at consequences if it is not met.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hosted the summit, and France's Emmanuel Macron were among those calling for an extension in order to more fully evacuate all foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans who helped the Americans and the NATO allies before the country's recent fall to the Taliban.

Canada is one of a dozen allied countries taking part in the evacuation of people facing Taliban reprisals from Kabul's chaotic airport, which American-led forces have secured for the time being.

Johnson called the "urgent" summit of G7 leaders to discuss the evacuation crisis and plot longer-term engagement with Afghanistan's new Taliban leaders, as well as deal with the humanitarian crisis for refugees.

"Our commitment to Afghanistan doesn't end when this current phase, this current deadline comes. We will continue to put pressure on the Taliban to allow people to leave the country," Trudeau said after the meeting.

"We will continue to ensure that we're doing everything we can to get them to respect human rights and give opportunities for all Afghans."

A Canadian military plane departed Kabul with over 500 evacuees on board on Monday, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said in a tweet.

"Canadian evacuation flights will continue for as long as conditions permit," he said.

Prior to the meeting, Trudeau said the return of the Taliban would have to prompt a broader rethinking of Canada's aid spending in Afghanistan.

"That is absolutely something we're looking at right now, obviously, with the Taliban in control of the country. Our regular aid, investments and agencies need to be looked at carefully to make sure we are not supporting, indirectly, the Taliban," Trudeau said.

"We obviously need to continue to be there to support the Afghan people, which we will. We need to invest even more, as we resettle, as we bring Afghan refugees to Canada," he added.

"We will be there for greater financial commitments because that's what Canadians expect, for us to continue to fight for a better Afghanistan and continue to be there for Afghans fleeing for a better life."

In January, a federal review gave a mixed grade on the effectiveness of the close to $1 billion in development assistance that Canada funnelled into Afghanistan in the six years following the complete withdrawal of the country's military forces in 2014.

The review also found that Global Affairs Canada was not adapting to Afghanistan's changing needs as the Taliban began gobbling up territory between 2017 and 2020 from the Afghan government, which has since fallen.

In November, Canada made a further three-year, $270-million aid commitment to Afghanistan.

All of Canada's aid spending has been channelled through international organizations and has not been given directly to any Afghan government. The money goes through an international trust fund run by the World Bank and through the direct funding of projects by Canadian non-governmental organizations, their international counterparts and other multilateral groups.