Harper to unveil new compromise motion to extend Afghan mission

OTTAWA - The federal Tories today presented a "compromise" motion on Canada's Afghan mission that would see the country's 2,500 troops out of Kandahar by December 2011.

The motion was a response to the Liberal proposal that called for a firm end date to the proposed mission extension. The current mission expires in February 2009.

The government presented the revised proposal for the question that will now be put to Parliament for a vote in early March. The exact date has "not been sorted out just yet," said a government official, noting that a vote on the federal budget that could spark an election has been set for Feb. 28.

In a speech to the Conference of Defence Associations, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he was pleased that "there has recently been a coming together of resolve."

"It seems clear we have moved significantly toward a bi-partisan consensus that can be put to Parliament for ratification," Harper said.

The support of both the Conservatives and Liberals for a mission extension means the question will easily pass through the House of Commons.

It calls for NATO allies to come up with 1,000 additional troops to fight the Taliban insurgency, whereas the Liberals had suggested that number should be left open-ended because the support needs were likely higher.

Liberal Leader Stephane Dion had called on Harper to immediately tell NATO that Canada would leave Kandahar completely by July 2011. Yesterday's government response said the pullout should start in July and end by December.

The government time frame is "the one that is doable," a government official said.

Harper said it reflects the feeling of most Canadians that the military effort in Kandahar is "not open-ended."

The official stressed that the government's latest proposal is "almost entirely based on the Liberal motion."

The Liberal plan commits soldier to focusing on training, security and development, and calls on the government to boost aid and development efforts.

The prime minister emphasized that he embraced this notion, saying yesterday that there is an unbreakable link between security and development - one cannot come without the other.

"This is a timeless, universal truth," Harper said.

Debate on the decision to extend the Afghan mission takes place in the House of Commons next Monday and Tuesday.