Month: May 2006

Here are a few quotes from NDP and Liberal MPs regarding the Canadian mission in Afghanistan:

NDP MP Peter Stoffer:

“Mr. Chair, I want to answer the question the Conservatives have been asking all day. The answer is yes, I support the mission and the troops in Afghanistan and so does my party“

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

Liberal MP Dan McTeague

“While we talk a great deal about what needs to be done and the purposes for which we are there, ultimately there has to be a solution and, one would presume, a political solution.”

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

Liberal MP Irwin Cotler

“I supported the human security protection mandate with regard to Afghanistan as early as January 28, 2002, in this House. I mentioned it at that time then, have summarized some of it now and I continue and reaffirm that human security protection mandate with respect to Afghanistan this evening.” (April 10th)

UPDATE: Didn’t show up for the vote

Liberal MP Robert Thibault:

“I believe that we have an important role to play in Afghanistan and I fully support our ongoing presence in this region. Make no mistake, we have a responsibility to finish the job that we started.”

UPDATE: Voted for the motion

BQ MP Paul Crête:

“We very clearly support the Canadian Forces, that is the soldiers in Afghanistan. We hope they will accomplish their mission without too many casualties.”

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

Liberal MP Keith Martin:

“This intervention is fully backed by the Liberal Party. We sent our troops in there. We are deeply honoured and respectful, and grateful for the incredible work that they do. I hope, at the end of the debate, that we will see all party support, fulsome 110% support, for our troops and the work that they are doing over there, not only for the benefit of the Afghani people but also for the benefit of Canadians.”

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

NDP MP Alexa McDonough:

“It’s not a question of should we be in Afghanistan. Yes, we should, we need to be, we need to be in in the long haul.” (CTV, Question Period, May 14, 2006)

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

BQ MP Claude Bachand:

“Imagine how soldiers would feel tomorrow if we could tell them that 270 of 308 members of Parliament voted in favour of this mission. I believe that this would show our support.”

UPDATE: Voted against the motion

These MPs all seem to not only support the troops, but also the mission. We’ll see how they vote tonight.

UPDATE: The only MP on this this that didn’t flip flop was Robert Thibault. Shame on Keith Martin, Alexa McDonough and Claude Bachand especially. Paul Martin didn’t even show up to vote on this issue.

Just received this press release from Manning’s people:

Calgary, Alberta – Preston Manning today announced that he has decided to continue development of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy rather than enter the leadership race to succeed Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.

Manning thanked the many Albertans who have urged him to enter the race and said it was these expressions of interest and support which caused him to give long and serious consideration to becoming a candidate.

“This has been a most difficult decision,” Manning said. “There is no province for whose people I have greater affection than the people of Alberta and no provincial government with a greater opportunity and responsibility for leadership than the Alberta government.”

“But in the final analysis I believe that I can better serve Albertans and the country by continuing my efforts to strengthen democratic conservatism through supporting the generation of better policy ideas, providing better training for political activists, and improving conservative communications capabilities – the purposes for which the Manning Centre was established.”

“Sandra and I also believe that our career involvements should not override our commitments to each other, to family, and to friends. I want to practice this principle more diligently in the future than I have in the past, and believe that I will be better able to do so as the President and CEO of the Manning Centre than as a candidate for the Alberta PC leadership.”

Manning urged those unfamiliar with the work of the Manning Centre to visit its website at www.manningcentre.ca and to support its activities. He also assured Albertans that he would have more to say in future about the defining issues facing the province and its responsibility to play a prominent role on the national stage.

Preston Manning will continue to benefit Canadian democracy no matter his role. It would have been interesting to see him in the race (and as Premier), but I know that he’ll continue to do excellent work building the democratic infrastructure of Canada.

Jack Layton, in his own words:

Given that our obligations in Afghanistan will end in 10 months, Parliament should soon debate and vote on a new deployment. Can the Prime Minister tell us when the government will inform the House of its intentions concerning our troops in Afghanistan after February 2007? What is the timetable? (link)

I will ask the Prime Minister a simple question. Will he keep his promise to Canadians to ensure that there will be a vote on any further deployments, following February 2007, in Afghanistan? (link)

Will he now agree that there shall be a debate and vote in the House regarding any future troop deployment beyond February 7 in Afghanistan? (link) (on May 9th)

A vote should be held in this House on whether or not our troops should be deployed. There are questions about our role in Afghanistan, and there should be a vote on this, as we have been requesting for weeks. (link) (May 10th)

and here’s NDP foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough:

There are increasing numbers of Afghans who are being killed, and I think we need to have a full debate and a vote on how we can best ensure that our troops have an achievable mission and that the people of Afghanistan are best served by the contribution we make. (link)

Stephen Harper, faced with calls for a debate and vote on an extension of the Afghan mission, said this today:

Members of this house have had five years to decide what their position is on this mission. We want to be sure that our troops have the support of this Parliament going forward.

What is the motion that MPs will be voting upon?

“that this House support the government’s two-year extension of Canada’s diplomatic, development, civilian police and military personnel in Afghanistan and the provision of funding and equipment for this extension.”

and the NDP response?

Appearing on CBC, Ms. McDonough called the move “premature” and said scheduling a vote immediately on the matter was “almost unprecedented.”

“This is a kind of Rambo-style approach to what is a deadly serious issue, and I think not respectful either of Canadians wanting to be engaged in this debate because they’re struggling with it … It’s certainly not respectful of our troops and others who are in harm’s way in Kandahar.” — Alexa McDonough

The Conservative move took the members of the Opposition off guard this week. Canada’s current mission in Afghanistan is scheduled to end in February, 2007. If the motion passes, that will be extended to February, 2009.

The NDP demanded a vote and now they’re getting one. Before, they demanded a take note debate and they got one. If a vote on extending the Afghan mission was so critical to Flap-Jack et al., then why are they so upset now?

The motion is clearly worded and the NDP has been asking for a vote for a while. Now they’re calling the move “not respectful of our troops”?

It’s time for the NDP to show their cards. Are they supportive of the work that is ongoing in Afghanistan? Will they vote to “bring home the troops” as some of their constituents demand?

The Conservative Party has been unambiguous in their support for the troops and their support of the mission in Afghanistan. Now Stephen Harper is giving the NDP what they wanted (regarding a vote). Was their interest in a vote merely a method to frame the PM as undemocratic on the issue of troop deployment? Now that the Conservatives are giving Parliament a chance to be counted on the issue, the NDP is angry that Harper has done so. Is the NDP being disingenuous?

UPDATE: Staples has more