Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is brushing off suggestions Canada was snubbed from an anti-ISIS coalition meeting that several other countries, including Australia and the Netherlands, were invited to attend on Wednesday in Paris.
âMeetings happen all the time,â Sajjan told reporters Tuesday in Saint Andrews, N.B.
However, sources inside the Department of National Defence told CTVâs Mercedes Stephenson they were surprised by the lack of an invitation, initially thinking it was a mistake.
Retired Maj.-Gen. David Fraser told CTVâs Power Play he believes the lack of an invitation is a result of the Trudeau governmentâs plan to pull Canadaâs CF-18 fighter jets from the mission against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
âThe United States are the ones who determine who comes to the meeting and (weâre) considered now, apparently ⌠not a significant contributor and they donât want to hear what we have to say,â he said.
Fraser said the Americans view Canadaâs current contribution of CF-18s âas very significant,â adding that they are currently making a difference on the ground.
âIf you donât come to the game standing shoulder to shoulder, sharing the burden and the risk of the hard fighting, you will not be included in the conversation,â he added.
The United States Department of Defense told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ that the meeting âis not a formal coalition meeting; rather, it is a one-time meeting of defence ministers.â
âThe United States and Canada are great friends and allies, and together with our coalition partners, we will continue to work to degrade and destroy ISIL,â the statement went on.
Former defence minister Peter MacKay told Power Play he sees the lack of an invitation as âdowngrading of Canadaâs perception and our role in the world.â
âAny way you want to try and spin it, it signals a diminished role for Canada in this mission and in the world,â he said.
MacKay urged the Liberals to âput aside the partisan campaign promiseâ to pull the six jets.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan said earlier Tuesday that the omission was âpredictable,â because of the Liberalsâ promise to pull CF-18 fighter jets from the bombing mission against ISIS.
âIt is important that Canada be part of these discussions,â Bezan told ŰÎŰ´ŤĂ˝ Channel Tuesday. âWe have a role to play and we have things to say, but unfortunately, under this government, nobody is taking us seriously.â
Conservative interim leader Rona Ambrose echoed Bezanâs comments in a speech to the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce.
âSix months ago we hosted the (anti-ISIS coalition) meeting,â she said. âEnter Trudeau, weâre not even invited to the meeting.â
âThese kinds of signals matter.â
Ambrose told reporters after her speech that itâs âobviousâ why Canada wasnât invited.
âWhen youâre not a full partner, you donât get invited to the table,â she said. âWe were asked to join by the United States and other partners and now weâve said weâre pulling out of that bombing mission,â she added.
âIâve called on the prime minister to keep our CF-18s in the fight against ISIS and stand resolutely with our allies,â Ambrose said.
But Sajjan brushed off suggestions that Canada has been sidelined in the fight against terror.
âMeetings happen all the time,â Sajjan told reporters Tuesday in Saint Andrews, N.B.
Although Canada wonât participate in Wednesdayâs meeting, Sajjan said he is actively engaged in anti-terror talks and will be discussing ISIS with Canadaâs allies at two other upcoming meetings.
That includes another coalition meeting of defence ministers on Feb. 11.
Sajjan also said that Canada is contributing to anti-terror efforts around the globe, including the aftermath of the November attacks in Paris and the more recent attack in Burkina Faso.
âWe are actively participating on a meaningful basis,â he said. âWeâre not just looking at the current situation in Syria and Iraq, weâre actually looking at the overall threats around the world as well.â
But Bezan said that the Liberals have been sending âconfusing messagesâ about Canadaâs role in the fight against ISIS. Despite the promise to withdraw fighter jets from the bombing missions in Iraq and Syria, a timeline has not yet been given.
Bezan said the Tories âfirmly believeâ that Canadaâs CF-18s should stay in the battle. The party also supports a more robust training mission for local troops on the ground, he said.
âPrime Minister Trudeau wants to talk about his sunny ways and that Canada is back on the international scene, and quite the opposite is true,â he said.
âWe should be sitting at the table. We have made significant contributions until now.â
The Globe and Mail reported that Wednesdayâs meeting is for âsignificant contributorsâ to the anti-ISIS coalition, including the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands.