MONTREAL, Canada – After two days of debate and opposition at home, the Canadian Parliament adopted the Conservative government’s motion to join airstrikes in Iraq, committing Canada to a more robust role in the fight against the Islamic State, the group known as ISIS or ISIL.
‘’We do not take this step lightly. The threat posed by ISIL is real. If left unchecked this terrorist organization will grow and grow quickly,’’ Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Tuesday evening, after the motion was adopted.
‘’They (the militants) have already voiced their local and international terrorist intentions and identified Canada as a potential target,’’ Harper added.
The motion passed 157-134 for a six month mission. The opposition NDP and Liberals voted against it under concern this could drag Canada into a lengthy quagmire. They were in favor of extending the humanitarian aid.
Harper has also said that he does not want to sink his country into a “quagmire.”
“We will obviously look carefully at steps that we believe would not leave us there in a quagmire for years,” he said.
Earlier this month, Harper ordered 69 Special Forces to serve on the ground in northern Iraq in an advisory capacity. Logistical support to fly weapons to the international alliance fighting ISIS is being offered by Canada since the end of August.
Last month, ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani named Canada among four nations he said are legitimate targets for jhadi attacks.
“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European -- especially the spiteful and filthy French -- or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war... kill him in any manner or way however it may be," he urged ISIS followers.
“It is imperative that we act with our allies to halt ISIL’s spread in the region and reduce its capacity to launch terrorist attacks outside the region, including against Canada,’’ Harper said after the parliament vote.
The deployment will include up to 600 support personnel, six CF-18 fighters, two Aurora surveillance planes and a refueling plane. The resolution explicitly ruled out any ground combat missions.
But the government has not said whether Canada will move out of the combat role in Iraq after six months, or if it will seek an extension.
Many Canadian Kurds – who number around 12,000 – have been calling over the past weeks for their government to increase participation in the coalition of some 50 nations who have committed militarily against the Islamic jihadists fighting in Iraq and Syria.
Last week, some 600 Canadian Kurds demonstrated outside the parliament in Ottawa, calling on Canada and the international community to support the 160,000 refugees from the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobane who were forced to flee to Turkey to escape an advance by the militants.
In Kobane, fresh air strikes by US and partner jets since Tuesday have been holding off what is feared to be the city’s imminent fall to the militants.
To date, Canada has sent only 26 advisers to Iraq from the 69 previously promised, and has helped transport small arms and ammunition donated by Eastern European nations for the Kurdish fighters in Iraq.
Also on Tuesday, about 100 Kurds protested again outside the Parliament. Although the rallies took place in front of the Parliament in Ottawa, Kurds came from Toronto and from the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
Many families and young Kurds, mostly students, shouted slogans such as “Free Kurdistan” and “We want peace now.” Kids in the crowd wore the colors of the Kurdish flag, and some carried pictures of the jailed Turkish-Kurdish leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Ersim Gezer, a Kurdish protester from Montreal, told Rudaw the protests were not just for the people of Kurdistan but for ‘’all inhabitants of the region,’’ referring to Yezidi Kurds and the Turkmen.
“It is a big tragedy all over Kurdistan right now,” said Hussein Solak, one of the rally organizers.
Some Canadian MPs joined the crowd outside the Parliament last week to express support for the Kurdish people.
“We have to thank the Kurdish people for saving lives, for protecting people,” MP Paul Dewar said. “But because the Kurdish people have done their job, we must do ours,” he added.
Kurdish forces in Iraq and Syria have been in the frontlines of the war against ISIS.
