Canada briefed one hour before U.S. airstrike on Syria: Trudeau

Canada was briefed about an hour before a barrage of U.S. cruise missiles were launched at an airbase in Syria, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also spoke by phone Friday with the man responsible: President Donald Trump.

The two leaders discussed the need for a “political solution” to the Syria crisis, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a brief synopsis of the call.

Trudeau disclosed the discussions during a long-awaited statement Friday in the House of Commons following Thursday’s strike, Trump’s promised response to a gruesome chemical attack Monday in Syria that killed more than 80 civilians.

Trudeau said that prior to the strikes taking place, U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis called Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan, who then briefed the prime minister.

“This morning I spoke with the president directly and emphasized that Canada agrees that Assad’s repeated use of chemical weapons must not continue,” Trudeau said during question period.

“In the face of such heinous war crimes, all civilized peoples must speak with one voice.”

The PMO’s readout of the call said the two leaders agreed “that the repugnant chemical attacks cannot be permitted to continue with impunity. They also committed to continuing to seek a political solution to end the crisis in Syria.”

The strike prompted an abrupt change in Trudeau’s position: after stopping short Thursday of directly blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad, he is now holding the Syrian government responsible for using chemical weapons against its own people.

Conservative MP Pierre Poilievre asked Trudeau to explain the pivot, but the prime minister would only reiterate his support of the U.S. action.

In a statement earlier Friday, Trudeau said Canada supports the “limited focused action” by the U.S. He also denounced the use of chemical weapons, saying “the crimes the Syrian regime has committed against its own people cannot be ignored.”

“Canada fully supports the United States’ limited and focused action to degrade the Assad regime’s ability to launch chemical weapons attacks against innocent civilians, including many children. President Assad’s use of chemical weapons and the crimes the Syrian regime has committed against its own people cannot be ignored. These gruesome attacks cannot be permitted to continue operating with impunity.

“This week’s attack in southern Idlib and the suffering of Syrians is a war crime and is unacceptable. Canada condemns all uses of chemical weapons.

“Canada will continue to support diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis in Syria.”

Thursday in New York, the prime minister was not ready to assign blame for Tuesday’s suspected sarin attack, which killed more than 80 people.

He promised Canada would be involved in the United Nations process to investigate and punish the perpetrators of the chemical attack that killed civilians, as seen in grotesque images that shocked the world.

Earlier this week, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said the facts behind the attack had to be clearly established so that those responsible could be held accountable. She said the findings needed to be presented in a “highly credible international fora” so they could not be disputed. She also stopped short of blaming Assad.

Canada and the U.S. are the two leading funders for the UN organization that investigates the use of chemical weapons.

Poilievre urged Trudeau not to wait for a meeting of the UN Security Council – a body on which Russia, which supports Assad’s government, wields a veto – to take action.

“When will the prime minister stop being so dangerously naive and confront this dictator and this tyrant?”

Interim Conservative leader Rona Ambrose expressed support for the airstrikes in a statement that also suggested the Liberal government had been left out of the loop while the U.S. was planning its action.

“The global community cannot sit idly by while deadly nerve toxins are unleashed on innocent civilians,” Ambrose said.

“Contrary to the prime minister’s beliefs, the United Nations Security Council has proven itself woefully ineffectual when it comes to resolving the Syrian conflict. In fact, the prime minister and the government of Canada seem to have been out of the loop on this action by the United States.

“Conservatives have always rejected the Liberal ‘go along to get along’ approach at the United Nations.”

On Thursday, Trudeau called on Russia – but took pains not to name the country – and other supporters of the Assad government to do their part in resolving the crisis.

“States that have been supportive of the Assad regime need to think about their responsibility in the ongoing conflict in Syria that is taking so many lives,” he said.

Russia is the main backer of Syria and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council has used its veto to block all attempts to take action in the war-torn country. The Kremlin also sent its military to Syria in 2015 to prop up Assad’s government against rebel forces.

After Tuesday’s chemical attack, the Russian government said its support for Assad is “not unconditional.” But Russia Today reported that President Vladimir Putin has said it would be unacceptable to make “groundless” accusations about Assad’s role in the attack, without proof.

The U.S. fired almost 60 missiles from two warships on Thursday evening against a government-controlled airbase in central Syria.

A spokesperson for National Defence in Ottawa said Canadian Forces personnel were not involved in the missile strike.

The statement added that Canadian operations in the region remain unchanged.

Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, said that Canada fully supports a limited and focused response from the U.S. Watch below. 

Related stories:

Maclean’s: What we know about U.S. missile strikes on Assad targets in Syria

U.S. attacks Syrian air base with cruise missiles from warships

U.S. missile strike on Syria a ‘violation of international law’: Russia

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