Harper Ratchets Up Powerful Anti-terror Rhetoric; Just Posturing, Trudeau Says

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper ramped up the anti-terror talk Monday, defending Canada's role in the fight against insurgents in the Middle East and slamming his two main rivals for what he considers their misguided opposition to military action.

 

With the trial of disgraced senator Mike Duffy set to make its dramatic return to the political stage this week, the Conservative leader is escalating the rhetoric as he depicts his party as the only one capable of keeping Canadians safe.

 

Harper strongly defended the use of Canadian warplanes against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — also known as ISIL and ISIS — as he promised Canada would  take in more refugees from the region over the next several years.

 

Offering safe haven to refugees is not enough, the prime minister said during a campaign stop in Markham, Ont.

 

"ISIS, left to its own devices, will create millions, tens of millions of refugees and victims on a monthly basis," he said.

 

"That's why the international community intervened ... President Obama and our allies felt we had no choice. We were witnessing mass slaughter at an alarming, lightning pace that was sweeping across the region."

 

Harper brushed off the criticisms of NDP Leader Tom Mulcair and Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau, who reject military action and have urged that Canada stick to providing humanitarian aid.

 

"If your policy is humanitarian assistance without military support, all you're doing is dropping aid on dead people," Harper said.

 

" That's not acceptable. We're a country that can contribute militarily and in a humanitarian sense, and we are doing both."

 

Harper says a re-elected Conservative government would bring in 10,000 additional religious minority refugees from Syria and Iraq, targeting refugees in the region who face persecution or the threat of extremist violence.

 

On Sunday, the prime minister raised eyebrows with a promise to ban travel to regions controlled by terror groups, saying such travel is "not a human right"— a comment he repeated Monday.