OTTAWA — Federal MPs in Ottawa have resumed their debate about the Conservative government’s plan to extend and expand Canada’s military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
A vote on the government’s motion is scheduled for shortly after 8 p.m., but it’s likely just a formality, given the Conservative majority in the Commons.
MPs will first have to decide whether to support any of the amendments made by the NDP, which wants to Canada’s participation in airstrikes and focus instead on humanitarian measures.
On Tuesday, diplomats from dozens of nations meet in Kuwait to discuss the next phase of aid efforts in Syria, where a crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad has displaced millions of people and left an estimated 200,000 dead.
The Conservatives say their decision to allow Canadian fighter jets to bomb ISIL targets within Syria is not being made to prop up Assad.
They say ISIL is using the eastern part of that country as a base and cannot be allowed to do so.