(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) Ottawa Dec.8 (Petra)--Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stressed that his government is committed to playing both a military and humanitarian role in Syria and Iraq.
Trudeau's remarks came after the Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose asked why Canada is ending airstrikes against the militant group in Iraq and Syria when U.S. President Barack Obama called the aerial bombing campaign a "key pillar" of the mission.
"Why is the prime minister stepping back from the fight when our allies are stepping up?" she asked.
Trudeau answered that Canada will continue to be a strong partner in the coalition. He has promised to expand the number of Canadian troops who will train local forces and to continue with humanitarian assistance including the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
When asked about when the fighter jets would be pulled from their mission Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion indicated a timeline of "weeks not months." Later on CTV's Power Play Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he was looking at "a few different options and different timelines.
"As the prime minister has stated repeatedly we want to make sure we do this in a responsible manner making sure that the capability remains intact for our coalition" he said.
Sajjan said the government is looking at other coalition partners in order to determine how Canada best fits into the picture of not only combatting Daesh but helping in other places like Africa where the group"tentacles" might be reaching with other terror groups like Boko Haram and al-Shabaab movements in Somalia.
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