Prince George’s Member of Parliament is backing his party’s move to extend Canada’s participation in the coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Bob Zimmer, MP for PG & Peace River calls ISIL a threat to Canadians and the world, and disagrees with the opposition’s claims that Canada is moving away from its international humanitarian role into that of a war machine.
“We take the threat of ISIL very seriously and that’s why we’re going forward with the motion as it is,” Zimmer says. “Our efforts are to degrade ISIL and that’s what we’re doing.”
“Ever since World War I, we’ve always served up to protect people of the world, wherever people need our help, Canadians are there to step up, to protect homelands and protect Canadians first of all, but also to help out those who need the help, I think it’s a continuation of where Canadians have always been,” Zimmer says.
Both the Liberals and NDP have criticized the Conservative’s plan for not being clear, not having an objective, and not having an exit strategy.
Prime Minister Harper’s one-year extension calls for airstrikes and support,along with advising Iraqi forces battling ISIS.
Air strikes in Iraq are to continue up to the end of next March and to be expanded to target Islamic State infrastructure and operations in Syria.
The motion will eventually be voted on by members of Parliament and will be debated on Thursday.