Keep up airstrikes on ISIL, victim’s mother says
‘Ashamed’ of PM for pulling CF-18s
The mother of one of the Canadians killed in a terror attack in Burkina Faso has made a desperate plea for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to keep up Canadian airstrikes against ISIL.
“I want Justin Trudeau, instead of condemning ( the attacks) solely with words and his little mouth, to do it with airplanes,” Camille Carrier, mother of 37- year- old victim Maude Carrier, told Montreal’s 98.5 FM on Monday. “I am ashamed.”
Maude Carrier was one of six aid workers from Quebec killed on Friday when a group of Islamist terrorists stormed a luxury hotel and café in the capital city of Ouagadougou. In all 28 people died.
Al- Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb ( AQIM) claimed responsibility, saying the unprovoked attack was meant to “punish the Crossworshippers for their crimes against our people in Central Africa, Mali and other lands of the Muslims.”
AQIM was an early supporter of ISIL, although as recently as November it was joining other al- Qaida affiliates in condemning the Islamic State’s purported caliphate as illegitimate and accusing the group of “deviation and misguidance” for targeting Muslims instead of Jews and Christians.
As soon as Carrier learned of the Burkina Faso attacks, she said she sent numerous anxious messages to her family, unaware that her daughter, ex- husband Yves Carrier, his second wife, Gladys Chamberland, and their son, Charlelie Carrier, had already been killed. The other two were family friends Suzanne Bernier and Louis Chabot.
“I wake up the next morning and nobody has responded to my messages … it was a Sûreté du Québec police officer who came on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to tell me they were all dead,” she told FM93.
Throughout Sunday and Monday, Carrier repeated her plea across Quebec media for Ottawa to back military action against jihadist forces.
“I’m revolted to have a prime minister who does not participate in combat,” she told French- language radio in Ottawa. “Even before this I was ashamed of us; I have plenty of friends in France who were ashamed of us.”
To the television station TVA, Carrier said Monday, “I’m revolted … ( Justin Trudeau) walks around with his nice hair spouting his empty theories, he’s on television condemning things but he’s not capable of joining in with the others who are supporting the French.”
France has been one of the most vocal members of the international coalition launching an air war against ISIL targets in Iraq and Syria.
One of Trudeau’s first official acts after winning the Oct. 19 federal election was to tell U. S. President Barack Obama that Canada would withdraw its six CF-18s from combat operations in the Middle East.
The warplanes continue to fly missions, however, pending the drafting of a timeline by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan.
The Liberal plan for the fight against ISIL would have Canada training Iraqi and Kurdish troops without Canadian Forces having any direct role in combat operations.
In the wake of the Burkina Faso attacks, Trudeau issued a statement offering Canada’s “deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those killed.”
Following Carrier’s remarks, Trudeau told reporters in Saint Andrews, N. B., on Monday, “we know that the global fight against terrorism is essential and must be conducted in an intelligent, reasonable and enthusiastic way.”
Trudeau s aid Canada must do everything possible to counter the rise of terrorism.
“That’s why Canada remains committed to the coalition against terrorists and to working with other countries on a humanitarian basis and in order to help refugees but also to show military commitment,” he said.
The CBC tweeted an unconfirmed report Monday night that RCMP officers have been dispatched to Ouagadougou to help repatriate the bodies of the six Canadian victims and assist with the investigation there.