Parliament voted to extend Canada's mission in Afghanistan to 2011 if NATO supplies more troops and equipment to back up its forces in the volatile south.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government has been under growing pressure to withdraw Canada's 2,500 troops as the death toll has mounted, now at 80 Canadian soldiers and a diplomat. The mission was set to expire in February next year.
But the minority Conservative government and opposition Liberals agreed last month to vote together on the motion, which passed 198 to 77 on Thursday. Liberals backed the extension after Harper promised the mission would increase its focus on training and reconstruction.
PHOTO: AFP
Conservatives had declared the motion a confidence vote, which would have triggered early elections if it failed.
US Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins applauded the vote and said the NATO ultimatum is appropriate.
The extension of the mission is conditional on NATO providing 1,000 troops, helicopters and unmanned surveillance aircraft to back up forces in southern Kandahar Province, a former Taliban stronghold.
Militants stepped up their attacks last year, making it the deadliest year in Afghanistan since the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban regime. The violence has placed civilians increasingly in the line of fire and posed a challenge to NATO efforts to stabilize the country.
Troops from Canada, Britain, the Netherlands and the US have borne the brunt of the resurgent Taliban, with support from Denmark, Romania, Estonia and non-NATO Australia.
Harper has reached out to several key NATO allies to get more soldiers for the south, but the refusal by some major European allies to send a significant number of troops has opened a rift within NATO.
Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay said the vote will be well received by NATO allies.
France is considering a Canadian request for more troops to reinforce its position in the south, though previous French policy is to keep its forces in more peaceful regions of the country.
Wilkins could not say whether the US military would step up if no other NATO country agrees to provide the 1,000 additional troops. He said the US had joined Canada in their efforts to secure more troops from other NATO countries.
"We're certainty doing what we can to persuade others to do that," Wilkins said. "We admire and appreciate the heavy lifting that they are doing."
While lawmakers voted, about two dozen demonstrators chanted "End it, don't extend it" in the upper public gallery of Canada's House of Commons.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
Two people died and 19 others were injured after a Mexican Navy training ship hit the Brooklyn Bridge, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said yesterday. The ship snapped all three of its masts as it collided with the New York City landmark late on Saturday, while onlookers enjoying the balmy spring evening watched in horror. “At this time, of the 277 on board, 19 sustained injuries, 2 of which remain in critical condition, and 2 more have sadly passed away from their injuries,” Adams posted on X. Footage shared online showed the Mexican Navy ship Cuauhtemoc, its sails furled