NDP MP Elaine Michaud says Canada is asking its brave men and women to serve abroad, but we don't know if the mission will have a positive effect. "There's so much ambiguity on the front lines," she says.
Michaud also raises the issue of the care our soldiers will need once they return from the mission.
Paul Calandra, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister, asks Michaud under what circumstances the NDP would support a combat mission, and how the party proposes protecting aid workers.
Michaud says the NDP wants Canada to concentrate on areas where it has expertise: humanitarian aid, help for civilians, minorities, training, etc.
Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux is up now asking about the NDP's amendment. To what degree does the NDP believe the Canadian Forces should be involved.
Michaud responds to say that the amendment meets the Iraqi request for humanitarian aid and other interventions. We need to meet their needs, and hard to respond to a hypothetical situation, she says.
Up now, Conservative MP Laurie Hawn delivers a statement. He speaks of images showing Iraqi and Syrian soldiers digging their own graves before being killed. "This is the Islamic State version of the final solution," Hawn says. Militants "revel" in their savagery, he says.
To simply bomb ISIS over the course of six months or more will not resolve the issue of the isolation of minorities in Iraq, Hawn acknowledges.
It is "simplistic" to think that humanitarian aid can be delivered amidst such a conflict without some force, Hawn says.
In a nod to Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's comments about Canada whipping out its CF-18s to show how big they are, Hawn provides the aircraft's specifications.
"We won't be running the mission from question period," Hawn says. "And we won't let the opposition do that, either."
The rules of engagement "are not public information," Hawn says, so they will not be disclosed in Parliament.
Up now, NDP MP Pierre-Luc Dusseault asks about whether bombing is the only solution to the issue. Hawn says he never suggested that. Combat and humanitarian aid go together.
Liberal MP Judy Sgro says all MPs share the same interest and concern about what Canada can do to fight ISIS. She wonders how much discussion Canada had with the coalition on how best it could help. She also wonders about plans to reduce civilian casualties.
Up now, Minister of State for Democratic Reform Pierre Poilievre speaks. He begins by talking about the terror threat to Canada.
There have been two-dozen terror-related convictions in Canadian courts since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Poilievre says. Terror presents a "clear and present danger," he says.
Poilievre cites cases of Canadian terror suspects abroad. If they could walk Canada's streets yesterday and try to participate in overseas terror attacks today, why couldn't they perpetrate attacks in Canada tomorrow?
"The root cause of terrorism is the terrorist himself," Poilievre says, taking a jab at Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who recently suggested that fighting terrorism should include looking at its root causes.
Pierre Poilievre accuses the opposition of saying the only option is humanitarian aid. What if all countries said that? Poilievre asks. "I think everybody acknowledges that somebody has to do combat" against ISIS, he says.
Up now, is NDP MP Randall Garrison. He says that as terrible as beheadings are, we should not allow them to spur a reaction that is based on anger or revulsion.
