Diplomats unhappy with Mali announcement

Diplomats from some of Canada’s closest allies are quietly expressing frustration with how the Trudeau government handled this week’s announcement that it plans to send military helicopters to Mali.

The news that Canada had finally committed resources to the peacekeeping mission was greeted with relief-tinged applause, but diplomats _ speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter _ say the government has failed to explain that the mission is both necessary and that the Canadians will be relatively safe, compared to the thousands of other peacekeepers working across the country.

They fear the government has allowed incorrect information to spread unchallenged, threatening to undermine Canadian public support for what they say is a critical contribution to the UN peacekeeping effort.

“It seems the government missed the opportunity to inform (Canadians) about the mission,’’ one diplomat said. “I believe they have to do more.’’

The government is still hammering out the details after what appears to have been a quick decision to help the UN, which appealed for Canada’s assistance last week.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday that Canada will send six helicopters to Mali to help with medical evacuations and the transporting of UN troops and supplies.

The 12-month mission was in direct response to an urgent request from the UN, sources have said, but many specifics remain up in the air, including when the helicopters will arrive and how many troops will accompany them.

That is despite the government and military officials having studied the possible deployment of Canadian military helicopters to Mali in late 2016, which was subsequently shelved for more than a year.

“Details regarding the final structure and chain of command of the Canadian mission in Mali are still to be determined, as negotiations with the United Nations have yet to begin,’’ Sajjan’s spokeswoman, Byrne Furlong, said in an email Friday.

“It is important to keep in mind that preparing for a mission can take several months. Mission requirements need to be defined.? All of this must be supported by ongoing diplomatic engagement with the UN, partners, and host nations.’’

Jocelyn Coulon, an expert on peacekeeping at the University of Montreal who advised then-foreign affairs minister Stephane Dion, said that could partly explain what he also felt was the government’s understated approach to Mali.

But he said questioned the government’s failure to challenge allegations that Canadian peacekeepers will be at grave risk or explain the broader importance of the mission, which he believed had resulted in a proliferation of misinformation.