Attending question period in the House of Commons for the first time as prime minister, Justin Trudeau fielded questions about the Islamic State and the Canadian economy on Monday.
Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose led by questioning Trudeau on his decision to withdraw Canada鈥檚 CF-18 fighter jets from the battle against ISIS.
鈥淲hy is the prime minister stepping back from the fight when our allies are stepping up?鈥� Ambrose asked.
Trudeau responded by saying his government is committed to playing both a military and humanitarian role in Syria and Iraq.
鈥淚 engaged with our allies on these issues, and they鈥檝e assured me that we are continuing to be helpful,鈥� Trudeau said.
When asked about when the fighter jets would be pulled from their mission, Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion indicated a timeline of 鈥渨eeks, not months.鈥� Later on CTV鈥檚 Power Play, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said he was looking at 鈥渁 few different options and different timelines.鈥�
鈥淎s the prime minister has stated repeatedly, we want to make sure we do this in a responsible manner, making sure that the capability remains intact for our coalition,鈥� he said.
Sajjan said the government was looking at what other coalition partners were doing in order to determine how Canada best fits into the picture of not only combatting ISIS, but helping in other places like Africa where ISIS 鈥渢entacles鈥� might be reaching with other terror groups like Boko Haram and al-Shabaab.
Sajjan also said he wasn鈥檛 worried about U.S. President Barack Obama naming France, Germany and the U.K. as some of the U.S.鈥檚 鈥渃losest allies鈥� without including Canada.
鈥淲e鈥檙e committed allies not just in the current fight but also in our past we鈥檝e shared conflicts together as well,鈥� Sajjan said. 鈥淲e should not read too much into this.鈥�
During question period, Finance Minister Bill Morneau was also pressed about the government鈥檚 , which conservative finance critic Lisa Raitt criticized for not being revenue-neutral, as the Liberals promised they would be during the election campaign.
鈥淗ow much will these broken promises cost Canadians?鈥� Raitt asked.
Morneau recognized that the economy was 鈥渟lowing,鈥� but said the government is committed to achieving a balanced budget by the end of its mandate. Morneau also took a jab at the previous Conservative government while explaining the Liberals鈥� plan for the future.
鈥淲e have inherited a situation that is more challenging than was foreseen in the budget,鈥� Morneau said, referring to the Liberals having stepped into power with .
鈥淲e are looking forward to making significant investments in our economy to help the growth of the economy, because we recognize the challenges Canadians are facing across this country,鈥� Morneau said.
