LETTER: Federal Conservative candidate weighs in on international issues
By Contributor
Daily there are thousands of migrants fleeing to Europe from Syria and Iraq. This year there have been over 300,000 refugees arriving on European shores. People are fleeing the savage rule of ISIS in parts of Iraq and Syria and the ongoing civil war in Syria.
We continue to read headlines that ISIS has fired chemical mortar shells; they continue to torture and behead anyone who does not convert to their beliefs; boys who don’t join their army have their right hand and left foot cut off and electric shock is applied to their genitals; women and girls are systematically raped.
With this type of savagery taking place, it’s no wonder that hundreds of thousands of people are willing to take the dangerous journey to get to the safety of Europe and Western Civilization.
This same savagery is why Canada must be engaged in the fight against ISIS. It’s important for Canada to not turn our back on the people of the Middle East as the other federal parties would have us do. We must take the fight to ISIS before they gain a greater foothold and pursue terror on a wider scale.
Canada is engaged in fighting the international Jihadi terrorist threat in a multi-pronged approach, including:
– Air strikes of ISIS targets.
– Cutting off ISIS’s funding sources.
– Providing humanitarian assistance to those fleeing from ISIS.
– Helping settle refugees in Canada.
– Stopping the flow of foreign terrorist fighters into Canada.
– Addressing any further threats at home.
According to the latest statistics from the Department of Defence, Canadian CF-18s have destroyed 80 ISIS fighting positions, 19 pieces of equipment, and 10 explosives factories or storage facilities.
On the humanitarian front, Canada is providing food, hygiene kits, cooking materials, blankets, tents, medical supplies, and other essential supplies as well as making emergency repairs to water and sanitation facilities. With Canada’s support, relief items have been provided to over 3 million people in Syria; food assistance to over 4 million people and 16 million people were given access to clean water in Syria.
For resettlement of refugees, Canada is on track to settle 23,000 Iraqis by the end of 2015 and Prime Minister Harper has committed to accepting an additional 10,000 refugees from Iraq and Syria.
The Conservative Party understands that we must remain vigilant against those who wish to harm us while also standing with our allies to combat the atrocities we see taking place in the Middle East.
And what is the response from Thomas Mulcair and the NDP? Mulcair has said, “The fact is that Canada has no place in this war.”
I disagree with the NDP. Canada has a place in this war. Canadians have died in their own country because of Jihadist terrorism. We cannot stand idly by. We have a responsibility to act and protect Canadians from emerging threats. The Conservative government is doing everything in its power to ensure that Canada remains safe, prosperous and free. We will fight Jihadist terrorists at home and abroad.
Federal Conservative Candidate Marshall Neufeld
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