Notice Paper

Denis Coderre continues to foist his all-too-familiar brand of idiocy upon the Canadian parliament and people, this time with an Opposition Motion on the Afghan mission:

April 17, 2007 — Mr. Coderre (Bourassa) — That,

1. whereas all Members of this House, whatever their disagreements may be about the mission in Afghanistan, support the courageous men and women of the Canadian Forces;


2. whereas in May 2006, the government extended Canada's military commitment in Southern Afghanistan to February 2009;


3. whereas it is incumbent upon Canada to provide adequate notice to the other members;


4. whereas by February 2009, Canada's military mission in Southern Afghanistan will represent one of the largest and longest military commitments in Canadian history; and


5. whereas Canada's commitment to the reconstruction and security of Afghanistan is not limited to our combat operations in Southern Afghanistan;

this House call upon the government to confirm that Canada’s existing military deployment in Afghanistan will continue until February 2009, at which time Canadian combat operations in Southern Afghanistan will conclude; and call upon the government to notify NATO of this decision immediately.

Coderre and his fellow Liberals are plainly trying to trap the government. If Harper's MP's accept the motion, they're doing just what the Liberals want. If they reject it, they're obviously intending to continue the "combat operations" past 2009, and should come clean about it to the Canadian public.

*yawn*

If you're going to set an ambush, ladies and gents, you're well advised to make sure your quarry hasn't an escape route that you can't cover.

In this case, all the government has to do is say: "We're not going to confirm we're ceasing combat operations in 2009, since that hasn't been determined yet. When the decision is ultimately made by cabinet and confirmed by parliament, we'll inform our NATO allies at that juncture. This motion is premature, partisan posturing at its worst."

Oh, wait a minute, Gordon O'Connor has been saying that all along:

O'Connor denied that extending the military mission is in the government's plan, and said that such an extension would have to first be discussed in cabinet, which he said won't happen until "sometime next year," and then passed in parliament.

In fact, he and Harper are saying precisely the same things:

Both O'Connor and Prime Minister Stephen Harper repeated the government's stock answer that the troops were committed until 2009.

"If the government wants to extend it further, it will seek the approval of Parliament to do that," said Harper.

Coderre and his supporters in parliament are closing a trap on thin air, here.