Reports: Canada not invited to Paris defence ministers’ to discuss ISIL fight

By The Canadian Press
January 19 2016 05:42 AM

CP36062436 — Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan talks with reporters before a morning session at a cabinet retreat at the Algonquin Resort in St. Andrews, N.B. on Monday, Jan. 18, 2016. The federal Liberals are working on their plans for the year including their upcoming budget. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

OTTAWA – Media reports say Canada has not been invited to a meeting of defence ministers in Paris this week to discuss the fight against Islamic State militants.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan’s office has confirmed to CBC News and the Globe and Mail that he won’t attend Wednesday’s meeting.

The reports say defence ministers from the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Australia and the Netherlands will take part in the talks.

Sajjan spokesman Renee Filiatrault told the Globe that Canada’s plan to pull its CF-18s from the fight against ISIL had nothing to do with Canada’s exclusion from the meeting.

Omar Alghabra, the parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion, told the CBC it wasn’t a surprise as those seven countries meet regularly without Canada and the only thing different this time it that defence ministers will be there.

But Conservative defence critic James Bezan said the apparent snub shows Canada is no longer seen as a valuable ally.

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