Harper defends mission against ISIS and says admitting refugees is ‘not enough’
OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Stephen Harper says Canada’s military mission in the Middle East must last for “the long haul” to defeat Jihadist extremists in the region.
As political pressure mounts on the prime minister to bring more Syrian refugees to Canada, he insists this won’t solve the problem. Harper made the comments in an interview with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge broadcast Monday night. Among the highlights: Harper believes the only party that should form a government Oct. 19 is the one that wins the most seats. He said it would be improper if the opposition parties join forces after the election and ask the Governor General to be given a chance to govern.
The Conservatives are running on a platform that is not “expensive” and, if re-elected, there are no “cuts in the offing” to government programs. However, he said governments should be “modernizing their systems, thinning their bureaucracy.”
He holds former chief of staff Nigel Wright responsible for keeping him in the dark on Sen. Mike Duffy’s expenses. Although there is court evidence that suggests his current chief of staff, Ray Novak, also withheld the facts from him, Harper said there is no one on his staff who he believes “deceived me or acted unethically or irresponsibly.”
He insisted a change in government now would be bad for the country, and he defended his approach after a decade as PM.
“I am who I am. Canadians know me. I’m not perfect, but you know, I’m dedicated to my country, I love my country. I think I’ve done as good a job as I can do and I lead a great team of people.”
The interview was recorded Thursday as the Syrian refugee crisis exploded on the campaign trail. The Conservative government, over the objections of the NDP and Liberals, ordered a military combat mission into Iraq and Syria last year.
Six CF-18 jets are dropping bombs on ISIL targets in both those countries and about 70 military trainers are training local forces on the ground in Iraq. The mission is due to end next spring, but Harper indicated it will last much longer.
“We have to be in for the long haul,” Harper told Mansbridge. “There’s no instant solution. But what we do know is that we cannot just withdraw, allow ISIS to spread the way it was spreading a year ago and use this as a staging area for international terrorist attacks against the world, including against us.
“It’s easy for the Liberals or NDP to say we’re going to pull out Canadian forces. But I don’t think our allies are going to say we could all pull out. That would be an absolute catastrophe.”
Harper said “rich, privileged nations” like Canada have an obligation to help Syrian refugees, but he struck back at questions over whether this country is doing enough.
“What’s enough? What’s enough?” he shot back repeatedly. “It’s not just enough to turn around and say, ‘ Oh let’s admit more refugees.’ We can admit thousands ... hundreds of thousands more refugees and we are still going to see those kinds of images.”