UNITED NATIONS, New York – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Rudaw that that Canadian forces will continue to play an important training and intelligence role in the fight with ISIS but are not necessarily needed in battle. “We realized that we have a capacity around training, around intelligence, around supporting local troops to be able to take the fight most effectively and directly to ISIS,” he said in response to a question by Rudaw on the sidelines of a climate change conference at the UN. “We've seen through the conflicts of the past that Western troops don't necessarily lead to a long-term stability and solutions,” the Canadian prime minister added. “Indeed, local forces being empowered to take back their home and lands is key to success and that’s a role that Canada has played a strong role in in the past and will continue to in the future,” Trudeau said. Canada has several dozen special forces soldiers with the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in what the government calls an advising and assisting role. In addition, the Canadian air forces “conduct air operations, provide training and assistance to the Iraqi security forces, provide capacity building capabilities to regional forces, and support the coalition with highly skilled personnel,” according to the Canadian Armed Forces. Trudeau joined world leaders on Friday at the UN to sign a global treaty on climate change.
