Canada is sending troops to Africa. Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan says while no final decisions have been made yet on numbers, timing or location, he says Canada’s contribution to a U-N mission in Africa will involve more than the military and go beyond what would be considered a traditional peacekeeping role.
Defence analysts have questioned whether Canada is stretching itself too thin, with Canadian Forces already involved in or preparing for training and other missions in Latvia, Iraq, and Ukraine. Canada’s top general made the comments after a fact-finding mission to Africa, where he was accompanied by former Supreme Court of Canada justice Louise Arbour, a former U-N high commissioner for human rights, as well as retired lieutenant-general Romeo Dallaire who commanded a U-N peacekeeping force in Rwanda.