Canada's Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walter Natynczyk, and his Afghan counterpart, General Bismillah Mohammadi, inspect an honour guard at National Defence headquarters in Ottawa on Oct. 8, 2009.CHRIS WATTIE/Reuters
Two cabinet ministers have signalled that Parliament will debate Canada's future role in Afghanistan when the Conservative government settles on a precise configuration for the new mission.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay told the House of Commons defence committee today Canada will not be leaving Afghanistan even after the combat mission expires in 2011.
The role will change from fighting a war to a development and training.
The federal cabinet has the authority to define the mission on its own, but Mr. MacKay says the Tory government is committed to the motion passed by Parliament in March, 2008, to withdraw the country's battle group from Kandahar, starting in July of 2011.
"Until such time as there is a new motion before Parliament or a new decision taken, we will respect the guidelines and the direction from the existing motion," the Defence Minister said after his committee appearance.
His remarks echo Conservative MP Deepak Obhrai, the parliamentary secretary to the foreign affairs minister, who told the Commons in an impromptu debate on Afghanistan earlier in the week that the future mission will be brought before MPs.
"I can tell the honourable member that when the mission is debated after 2011 by Parliament, he, as the Liberal foreign affairs critic, will have an opportunity to full participate in that debate," Mr. Obhrai said in response to a question from Liberal MP Bob Rae.
"The [Commons Afghanistan]committee will participate. Canadians will participate to indicate how the mission will go after 2011 should go, while taking into account the strong values and past contributions. I can tell the honourable member we are looking forward to that debate."
Both comments are the clearest statements the Conservatives have made about how the future of the costly and deadly involvement in Afghanistan will unfold.
The fighting has killed 131 soldiers and a diplomat. Cost estimates for both the military and aid portions of the operation range from $11 billion to $13 billion.
Mr. MacKay side-stepped the question of how Canada will carry out a development mission with the Taliban insurgency continuing to rage throughout many parts of southern Afghanistan.
It is generally accepted that diplomats, development and aid workers will need protection, but the minister refused to say whether a small contingent of Canadian troops will provide that security - or if the dangerous role will be left to the Americans and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.
There are many "moving parts" in making the decision about what the mission will look like, not the least of which is what direction the U.S. administration intends to take, Mr. MacKay said.
U.S. President Barack Obama is deciding whether to adopt a new beefed-up counter-insurgency strategy, which could include up to 40,000 more American troops.
Last week, Mr. MacKay cracked open the door to a continued involvement of Canadian troops - albeit in a defensive role - when he said one of the options the government is studying is whether to keep control of the Kandahar provincial reconstruction base.
The base, which Canada has operated since 2005, has been the showcase for Ottawa's diplomatic and development efforts, running programs to improve Afghan governance, delivering aid and training local police.
The discussion about where the Canadian mission goes is happening as Afghanistan's top military commander pays a visit to both Ottawa and Washington for talks over the direction of the war.
General Bismullah Mohammadi is meeting with Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Walter Natynczyk and other senior officials, but will also travel to the army's central training base and garrison, Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, Ont.
There, Gen. Mohammadi is expected to meet directly with Canadians who've trained Afghan soldiers.
He'll also lay a wreath at the National War Memorial to honour Canadian dead.