Tories question Liberal peacekeeping plan
Mali mission ‘incredibly dangerous,’ says critic
The Conservative defence critic is questioning the Trudeau government’s decision to send peacekeeping troops to the troubled West African nation of Mali.
A senior government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed late Friday night that Canada will dispatch an aviation task force to Mali as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission, in a move de- fence critic James Bezan said raises more questions than answers.
“Why did it take them so long to make this announcement, and is this in Canada’s national interest or is this in the Liberals’ interest?” Bezan said. “Are they making this announcement because of all the criticism they’ve received for breaking the promise of deploying 600 troops and 150 police officers on UN missions, when we’re at the lowest levels in history?”
The government source said the task force will be in Mali for up to 12 months and an official announcement on the deployment will be made Monday.
In terms of troop numbers, Canada is currently at a historic low for participation in peacekeeping missions. Canada had a total of 43 peacekeepers deployed around the world at the end of December, the most recent UN numbers indicate, down from 62 in November.
Bezan, the MP for Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman, said the Conservatives want to see Canada involved in more peacekeeping, including in Ukraine. But he said it must be in the national interest, and in some cases it may be preferable to fight under Canadian instead of UN command.
“We know that this is incredibly dangerous,” Bezan said. “We support our troops and know they are completely capable of doing it. But we are hes- itant about putting our troops in harm’s way under UN command.”
Mali has been in turmoil since a 2012 uprising prompted soldiers to overthrow the president. The power vacuum that was created led to an Islamic insurgency and a French-led war that ousted the jihadists from power in 2013. However, insurgents remain active and the UN has seen its peacekeeping force in the region suffer more than150 fatalities since its mission began in 2013.
François Audet, who studies Canadian humanitarian policy and international relations at the Université du Québec à Montréal, said there are four million people in need of aid in the country, many of whom are inaccessible to civilian aid workers because the areas they’re in are too dangerous.