Canada's Military Plan For Africa Will Be For A Long Duration, Says Harjit Sajjan

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says he will soon announce a plan to send Canadian troops on a long-term mission to Africa.

 

Sajjan says while no decisions have been made yet on numbers, timing or location, Canada's contribution to a United Nations mission will involve more than the military and go beyond what would be considered a traditional peacekeeping role.

 

Sajjan made the comment in a teleconference marking the end of a five-country, fact-finding mission to Africa.

 

The minister visited Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda before making his final stop in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the eight-day trip.

 

He was accompanied by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour, who is also a former UN high commissioner for human rights, and retired lieutenant-general Romeo Dallaire, who once commanded a UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda.

 

Defence and Global Affairs department officials have been assessing the possibility of Canada joining UN peacekeeping operations in Mali or the Central African Republic.