Defence Minister David McGuinty said Tuesday that Canada’s decision not to hitch the U.S. and Israel’s military attacks on Iran was clear “from the start” of the war greater than two weeks ago, while underscoring that position is just not going to vary.
During a press event in Brampton, Ont., highlighting Canada’s military aid to Ukraine, McGuinty was asked concerning the resignation Tuesday of U.S. National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent, who said he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war because “Iran posed no imminent threat” to the U.S.
McGuinty told reporters he had not been aware of Kent’s resignation but suggested he “made a principled decision, I suppose.”
“Look, the US goes to search out its way forward on this with Israel,” he said. “When it comes to Canada’s position, we’ve checked out this very rigorously. We’re following it hour by hour. It’s a really volatile situation, and so we’re very, very careful by way of taking steps in any direction.
“But for us, from the start, it was clear that joining this by way of the prosecution of the war offensively was not going to occur.”
McGuinty reiterated the federal government’s position that Ottawa was not consulted before the U.S. and Israel launched military motion in Iran, that Canada “has not participated on this conflict, and Canada has no intention of doing so.”
“We’ve members of the [Canadian Armed Forces] within the region, but they usually are not involved within the prosecution of this war,” he said when asked if any CAF members are currently deployed in non-combat or defensive roles, similar to radar aircraft jointly operated with the U.S.
He said he couldn’t reveal way more than that about Canadian military operations within the region for security reasons.
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“It’s very essential that we, to begin with, give attention to Canadians within the region who want to go away that region,” he said. “Secondly, may be very essential for me as minister of defence to be certain that that we protect, that we keep our forces out of harm’s way.”
McGuinty on Monday said Canada was “leaving the door open” to providing assistance to any Gulf nation that requires assist in defending from Iranian attacks, but that thus far it had not received any such requests.
That assistance is just not necessarily guaranteed, he said Tuesday.
“If any neighbouring states might require assistance, we’ll see,” he said. “But we’re going to look at this hour by hour, daily, and we’ll govern ourselves accordingly.”
NATO allies, including Canada, were facing pressure this week from U.S. President Donald Trump to assist the U.S. secure the vital Strait of Hormuz trade corridor from Iranian attacks on industrial shipping and oil transports.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said earlier Tuesday that NATO had not received a proper request for assistance, and Trump said most NATO allies had rebuffed his public demands.
Anand said she agrees with Prime Minister Mark Carney that the U.S. attack on Iran likely violated international law, but added that also applies to Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
McGuinty on Tuesday also responded to Conservatives’ criticism that the federal government and military didn’t disclose a strike that damaged a Kuwait airbase utilized by the CAF until over per week later.
“With all due respect to my colleagues within the Conservative party, we’ll take our lead from the operational experts, experts within the Canadian Armed Forces, who’ve a policy of being very careful concerning the security of our Canadian Armed Forces on the bottom,” he said.
“I feel it’s as much as the Conservative party to elucidate why they could wish to pursue information or reveal information that may compromise that security.”
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