Prime Minister Harper’s cabinet ministers are poised to consider the deployment of CF-18 jet fighters and CP-140 Aurora surveillance aircraft in the ever-expanding air war against Islamic State terrorists.

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird repeated a pledge by the Prime Minister in the Commons yesterday that a vote would be held first in parliament.  Baird explained to MPs that Canada has been asked to do more by the U-S and stressed that no decisions have been made.

The air force has four CF-18s already in the field flying air policing missions over the Baltic as part of NATO’s eastern European reassurance measures.

The Islamic terrorists have captured the world’s attention with a series of atrocities in Iraq and Syria, as well as the savage beheadings of three westerners.