October 7, 2014
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-specific motion after two days of debate in Parliament:
“Since early 2014, the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – or ISIL – has been carrying out a campaign of unspeakable atrocities against innocent children, women and men, as well as religious minorities in Iraq. Specifically, it has tortured and beheaded people, raped and sold women into slavery, slaughtered minorities and kidnapped innocent victims whose only crime was to have a different ideology than ISIL.
“Last summer when ISIL stood on the brink of committing genocide in Northern Iraq, Canada’s allies, led by U.S. President Barack Obama, intervened. We joined in this response by providing humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Iraqi people. We also provided Canadian Armed Forces specialists to offer advice to security forces in Iraq on battling the terrorists, and provided aircraft to transport weapons and supplies to fight ISIL.
“For two days we have debated a motion in Parliament to participate in air strikes against ISIL along with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and likely others. Canada has committed up to six CF-18 fighter aircraft as part of a strike force.
“The motion also set out continued assistance to Iraq and other allies in the areas of ongoing advice to security forces in Iraq, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and aircraft refueling, including the provision of one CC-150 Polaris tanker, two CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft and one dedicated airlift aircraft.
“To be absolutely clear, Canada’s engagement in Iraq is not a ground combat mission. It includes a number of targeted measures, being taken with allies, to severely limit the ability of ISIL to engage in full scale military movements and to operate bases in the open.
“We do not take this step lightly. The threat posed by ISIL is real. If left unchecked this terrorist organization will grow and grow quickly. They have already voiced their local and international terrorist intentions and identified Canada as a potential target.
“It is imperative that we act with our allies to halt ISIL’s spread in the region and reduce its capacity to launch terrorist attacks outside the region, including against Canada.
“Our Government has a duty to protect Canadians and to shoulder our burden in efforts to combat threats such as ISIL. We must do our part.
“That is why we decided to seek support for this mission and support for the brave men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces who would carry it out.”