Trudeau pulls jets out from coalition against ISIS to mixed reviews
"I spoke with president Obama, and we talked about Canada's continued engagement as a strong member of the coalition against ISIL, and I committed that we would continue to engage in a responsible way. But he understands the commitments I've made around ending the combat mission."- Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister designate
What a difference an election can make.
It was a little more than a year ago that Prime Minister Stephen Harper's conservative government launched "Operation Impact". Since then, Canadian jets have launched more than 180 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, as part of the U.S.-led fight against ISIS. The six Canadian CF-18 jets are authorized to remain in the region until March.
But, as prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau pledged on the campaign trail and reiterated with the U.S. president this week... He'll be ending the airstrikes soon.
Justin Trudeau's Liberals are determined to make a different sort of impact on the world and set a different tone.
But will it be the right one for Canada?
- Bessma Momani is a Senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo.
- Peggy Mason is President of the Rideau Institute on International Affairs, and Canada's former Ambassador for Disarmament to the UN.
- Chris Sands is a senior research professor at Johns Hopkins University.
Do you agree with Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau's decision to withdraw Canada's jets from our combat role against the Islamic State?
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This segment was produced by The Current's Lara O'Brien and Marc Apollonio.