Welcome, everyone! We are minutes away from the debate in the House of Commons over Canada's military mission against ISIS. Moments ago, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported that Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will announce new measures today to help victims of ISIS, including victims of sexual abuse.
Deputy Speaker Joe Comartin begins by reading out the text of the motion that MPs will debate.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird is up first to open the debate in the House.
We've got some government business to take care of before we get back to the debate.
And we get back to Defence Minister Rob Nicholson, who is told he has three minutes left to speak.
Canadian Forces members "will remain under the command of the chief of defence," Nicholson says. The opposition had questioned whether Canadian soldiers would fall under the command of an ally.
NDP defence critic Jack Harris is back up.
Harris asks if it has to be a military mission or bust? Nicholson responds that Canada has helped in other ways, including one million pounds of supplies to Iraq.
Marc Garneau is back up to ask whether Canada would proactively ask Assad if Canadian Forces could launch airstrikes in Syria, or just wait for Assad to approach the Canadian government. Nicholson does not directly answer the question, says Canada will act where it has authorization to do so.
Now, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is up for the first time in this debate. Cites media reports that U.S. airstrikes are not pushing back ISIS militants in northern Iraq.
Nicholson says Canada is "doing what is reasonable under the circumstances" and says he's "disappointed" that Canada's actions don't have opposition support.\
Up now is Employment and Social Development Minister Jason Kenney.
Kenney quotes a UN report on ISIS's human rights abuses, including sexual assault, kidnappings, forced conversions, denial of humanitarian assistance, etc.
Iraqis, particularly religious minorities, are asking us to do what we can to help protect them, Kenney says.
The Iraqi government has requested Canada's assistance, and ordinary Iraqis have asked for this assistance, Kenney says.
Kenney quotes from letters he says have been written by Iraqi religious leaders, supporting the Canadian government's decision to launch a military mission against ISIS.
"There is an arc of violence held together by a common perversion of ideology," Kenney says of the terror groups inflicting violence around the world.
"The Iraqi government has not requested ground troops from Canada," Kenney says to question from Paul Dewar.
On the issue of humanitarian aid, Kenney says Canada has contributed $29 million, as well as an additional $10 million announced today. There will be more to come, he says.
Up again is Marc Garneau, asking again whether Canada would send CF-18s into Syria after asking permission from Bashar al Assad, or would we strictly wait for Assad to call up with a request.
Kenney responds that it's a hypothetical scenario not covered in the motion. Kenney then criticizes the Liberals for not supporting the motion, as well as Justin Trudeau's comment about whipping out our CF-18s and showing how big they are. "How profoundly un-serious," Kenney says of that quote.
Up now, a statement from Foreign Affairs critic Paul Dewar. The question before MPs is not whether Canada should do something. "We should," Dewar says. "We should, and our response should be serious and significant."
"The only ideology it supports is the ideology of hate," Dewar says of ISIS. The NDP is clear that "Canada has an important role to play in contributing to the international response to this crisis," he says.
Dewar says when he visited Iraq with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird earlier this year, "nobody ever asked for fighter jets."
The federal government is sending Canadian Forces into war with a plan that is "so ill-defined it borders on irresponsible," Dewar says.
The motion allows the government to "go far beyond Iraq, and far beyond ISIL," Dewar says.
Dewar says the NDP has asked the federal government for four things: Support construction of refugee camps; help victims of sexual violence; help with international prosecutions of war crimes; and help protect religious sites.
Dewar then tells a story about a visit to a refugee camp in Iraq, and finding children playing. How can we best help them to grow up and thrive in a peaceful and prosperous Iraq? he asks.
"The children I met in Iraq need our help. We should be smart in how we deliver," Dewar says.
Up now, Treasury Board president Tony Clement. He asks why Canada can't do both, answer the call and be there with the CF in the air, and offer humanitarian aid.
Dewar says no one has asked Canada for airstrikes. "They've asked us to save lives." Canada could already be on the ground with such aid, he says.
Up again is Green Party Leader Elizabeth May. She stresses that it should be clear that no one in the House thinks Canada should do nothing.
May, while being heckled, asks if a Canadian peacekeeping force could be put together to help protect civilians, including those in refugee camps.
Dewar appreciates the question, but says "I don't think we're there yet."
Up now for the first time is NDP MP Pierre Nantel.
Nantel asks about the UN resolution that the government cites as authorization for the mission. Dewar says again that the UN resolution covers dealing with homegrown fighters.
NDP defence critic Jack Harris is back up.
"The use of force is more likely to fuel the extremism underpinning the conflict," Laverdiere says. If the government insists on going ahead with the mission, it should report regularly to Parliament on the progress, she says.
Up again is Conservative MP Laurie Hawn. What is the NDP solution to stopping ISIS from beheading women and children tomorrow? he asks. Need to act to stop killings so can act on some of the long-term solutions, he says.
Laverdiere says we need to start on those long-term solutions tomorrow. Doctors have a saying, she says: First, do no harm. Failing to act on humanitarian emergency does harm, she says.
Welcome, everyone! We are minutes away from the debate in the House of Commons over Canada's military mission against ISIS. Moments ago, CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife reported that Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will announce new measures today to help victims of ISIS, including victims of sexual abuse.
For the opposition to stand up and espouse platitudes about aid workers and medical personnel, it clearly shows a misunderstanding of the real threat. How many aid workers, doctors and nurses do we need beheaded? The government has chosen the least destructive path for us, high altitude aircraft that can only be brought down by experts and sophisticated weaponry. We need to rid the earth of these serial killers disguising themselves as religious leaders
