Defense Minister David McGuinty said Tuesday that Canada’s decision not to join a U.S. and Israeli military strike on Iran has been clear “since the beginning” of the war two weeks ago, but stressed that position will not change.
During a press event in Brampton, Ont., highlighting Canada’s military aid to Ukraine, McGuinty was asked Tuesday about the resignation of US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who said the Trump administration “cannot in good conscience justify” war because Iran posed no imminent threat to the US.
McGuinty said he was not aware of Kent’s resignation but suggested he had “made a principled decision, I think.”
“Look, the United States is going to have its way with Israel on this,” he said. “As far as Canada’s position is concerned, we have looked at it very carefully. We have been following it for hours. It is a very volatile situation and so we are very cautious about taking steps in any direction.
“But it was clear to us, from the beginning, that joining this in terms of aggressively prosecuting war was not going to happen.”
McGuinty reiterated the federal government’s position that Canada “has not participated in this conflict and Canada has no intention of doing so,” adding that Ottawa had not been contacted by the US and Israel before launching military operations in Iran.
“We have (Canadian Armed Forces) members in the region, but they are not involved in the prosecution of this war,” he said when asked if any CAF members were currently deployed in non-combat or defensive roles, such as radar aircraft operated jointly with the US.
He said he could not reveal more about Canadian military operations in the region for security reasons.
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“It’s very important that we, first of all, focus on Canadians who want to leave the region,” he said. “Secondly, it’s very important to me as defense minister to ensure that we protect, that we protect our forces from harm.”
McGuinty said Monday that Canada “opens the door” to providing assistance to any Gulf country that needs help defending against an Iranian attack, but so far has not received any such requests.
That aid is not necessarily guaranteed, he said Tuesday.
“If any neighboring states need assistance, we will see,” he said. “But we are going to watch this hour, hour by hour, day by day, and we will govern ourselves accordingly.”
NATO allies, including Canada, are facing pressure from US President Donald Trump this week to help the US defend the key Hormuz trade corridor from Iranian attacks on commercial shipping and oil shipments.
External Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Tuesday that NATO had not received a formal request for help, and Trump said most NATO allies had rejected his public demands.
Anand said he agreed with Prime Minister Mark Carney that the US attack on Iran may have violated international law, but the same applies to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
McGuinty was responding to criticism from the Conservatives on Tuesday that the government and military did not disclose the strike that damaged a Kuwaiti airbase used by the CAF a week later.
“With all due respect to my colleagues in the Conservative Party, we have a policy of being very vigilant about the security of our Canadian Armed Forces on the ground, the operational experts of our Canadian Armed Forces,” he said.
“I think it’s up to the Conservative Party to explain why they want to continue with information or disclose information that compromises that security.”
Conservative defense critic James Bezon said in a statement to Global News that Canada must follow through with its allies to be transparent with Canadians “without jeopardizing the security of our troops in the region.”
“The corny liberals are clearly making excuses now because they know they’re wrong,” he said. “It’s time for this government to end their culture of secrecy. Canadians don’t need special security clearances to be treated with respect by a Liberal government.”
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(tags to translate)Iran
