Parliament is expected to pass a motion to extend Canada's military mission in Afghanistan until 2011 today, just a few weeks before a crucial NATO meeting in Bucharest, Romania.
Canada has repeatedly told its NATO allies that it will not extend its mission in Kandahar, unless another nation antes up 1,000 more troops for the dangerous region.
The vote is as assured after a compromise was ironed out between the Liberals and the Conservatives on the Afghan issue last month.
A key part of the Liberals' demands was that the military mission shift from counterinsurgency to development and the training of Afghan forces.
NDP Lader Jack Layton told Â鶹´«Ã½net Thursday that he was "sorry that (Liberal Leader Stephane) Dion has decided to essentially prop up (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper and support the continued war effort."
Both the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois are expected to vote against the Afghan extension this afternoon.
"We don't have a sense of the final cost and even the additional troops . . . are going to come from," Layton said. "We are embroiled in something that is not taking us towards peace."
The vote is expected to begin later this afternoon.
Important NATO meeting
A strong mandate from Parliament should strengthen Harper's hand during negotiations at the NATO meetings on April 2 to April 4. While NATO has not officially announced an additional 1,000 soldiers for Kandahar, officials from the U.S. and Britain have said that the troops will be provided in some manner.
Omar Samad, the Afghan ambassador to Canada, spoke to CTV's Canada AM Thursday and said that while nothing is guaranteed, he was confident Canada's demands would be met.
"We remain optimistic that those conditions will be met (at the NATO meeting in Bucharest)," Samad said. "I'm sure the discussions in NATO are continuing to address those issues and the resolutions to them."
Samad also discussed the recent UN report that painted a bleak picture of the NATO mission in Afghanistan. The report noted that the number of casualties in the country sharply increased in 2007.
"Unfortunately, the number of casualties has increased as a result of an increase of mostly Taliban activities against civilians . . . aid workers and of course, NATO troops," Samad said. "But the bulk of the casualties are on the Taliban side."
But Samad also said that an increasing number of civilians were being hurt by "all sides."
"This is something that is worrisome and we need to do everything possible to decrease that," he said.
Confidence measures
The Afghan vote is not the only confidence motion on Parliament's agenda today.
A budgetary ways-and-means motion, which will cancel a new Liberal private member's bill giving tax breaks to parents saving for their kids' education, is also expected to pass.
Dion has signalled that his party is not ready for an election yet, which means the minority Conservatives can breathe easy for a few more weeks.
Dion has said that he will wait until a few weeks after next Monday's byelections to decide whether or not to topple the government. This would allow any potential new MPs a chance to show off their stuff in the House of Commons before another election.
Four federal byelections are being held across Canada on Monday, including one in Toronto where former Ontario premier and Liberal leadership contender, Bob Rae, is widely expected to win.
