The Conservative defence critic is questioning the Trudeau government’s decision to send peacekeeping troops to the troubled West African nation of Mali. “Why did it take them so long to make this announcement and is this in Canada’s national interest or is this in the Liberals’ interest?” Bezan said. In terms of troop numbers, Canada is currently at a historic low for participation in peacekeeping missions. But he said it must be in the national interest and in some cases, it may be preferable to fight under Canadian instead of UN command. However, insurgents remain active and the UN has seen its multinational peacekeeping force in the region suffer more than 150 fatalities since its mission began in 2013.

Source: National Post March 17, 2018 21:00 UTC