Canadian troops today took command of NATO combat operations in the Kandahar region of southern Afghanistan.
This is a mission unlike others in recent decades. Instead of peacekeeping, Canadian soldiers will be leading the fight against remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as trying to preserve security in the volatile region where there has been a recent upsurge in attacks, including suicide bombings, designed to disrupt the fragile national government.
But Parliament has never given its approval to this deployment.
So The Globe and Mail decided to hold this long-overdue debate in the pages of the newspaper and on-line for readers of globeandmail.com.
Monday, on the Comment Page of The Globe, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor, Liberal defence critic Ujjal Dosanjh, NDP defence critic Dawn Black, and Bloc Québécois defence critic Claude Bachand debated the following resolution:
"WHEREAS the Government of Afghanistan has requested international assistance to protect its new administration and to ensure the country's peaceful transition to democracy,
BE IT RESOLVED that Canada should deploy Canadian Forces to Aghanistan in a NATO combat mission in furtherance of this objective."
You can read their responses here: Should Canada lead the fight in Afghanistan?
Mr. Dosanjh, Ms. Black and Mr. Bachand were on-line at various times Monday to discuss this question with readers of globeandmail.com. The Globe invited Mr. O'Connor and External Affairs Minister Peter MacKay to join the discussion, or to nominate a representative to speak for the Conservative government. However, they declined to take questions from globeandmail.com readers. Mr. O'Connor said Sunday the government intends to provide an update to Parliament when it meets in April but will not allow a vote on the issue. Jeff Sallot reports: Defence Minister won't support vote on troops in Afghanistan
The details of this discussion, photos of the participants and mini-profiles of them are at the bottom of this page.
Today, globeandmail.com readers are — after reading the debate and hearing the discussion — able to vote in an on-line poll on the question of whether they support this mission.
Our broader coverage of the issue started Friday with the publication in The Globe of a poll showing a robust majority of Canadians say they would opt against sending troops to Afghanistan and would like to see parliamentarians have the opportunity to vote on the issue. You can read the details here Majority opposed to Afghan mission
Saturday, the cover story in the Focus Section was a report by The Globe's Michael Den Tandt, who recently returned from a reporting trip to Afghanistan, describing the reality of war for these soldiers and the hopes and dreams of the Afghan people.
The series will wrap up on Wednesday with on-line-only articles written by Mr. Den Tandt, as well as a discussion with a critic of the Canadian role in Afghanistan.
The full package can be found here in this special report on Afghanistan
Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor participated in the Comment Page debate. Mr. O'Connor served in the Canadian military for 33 years, joining the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant in the Armour Branch, and retiring at the rank of Brigadier General. He was first elected to the Commons in 2004.
His appointment as Defence Minister generated some controversy because he previously worked as a lobbyist for companies in the defence and aerospace industries.
Ujjal Dosanjh, the new Liberal defence critic, also participated in the Comment Page debate and was on-line earlier Monday taking part in the live discussion.
Mr. Dosanjh is a long-time human rights and social justice advocate, having worked with community organizations in Vancouver over a period of many years. His concern for social justice led to his involvement in politics.
During his 10 years in the British Columbia Legislature, he held several cabinet posts, most notably serving as Attorney General for a period of nearly five years. From February 2000 to May 2001, Mr. Dosanjh was Premier of British Columbia.
Mr. Dosanjh was first elected federally in 2004 as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver South. He was re-elected in 2006. From July 2004 to February 2006, Mr. Dosanjh served as federal Minister of Health in the previous Liberal Government.
