A new special committee of MPs is set to put the spotlight on the Canadian government’s handling of the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in August.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election as the Taliban was rapidly advancing through Afghanistan and came under heavy criticism for the government’s handling of both the withdrawal of U.S. troops, which had been previously planned, as well as the ensuing Taliban blitz.
READ MORE: Inside the Kabul safe houses where Afghans wait to be evacuated to Canada
What unfolded was a diplomatic evacuation scramble and a humanitarian tragedy following a lengthy, bloody conflict in that country in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
The Conservative motion passed with the support of the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP Wednesday.
Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith also voted in favour of the motion.
The rest of the Liberals voted against it.
READ MORE: The Taliban is rebranding Kabul with its white flags, but what comes next has Afghans on edge
The motion was put forward by Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole and tasks the new special committee with studying “the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban, including, but not limited to, the government’s contingency planning for that event and the subsequent efforts to evacuate” a range of individuals.
A Bloc Quebecois motion amended that to mandate the committee’s primary objective be on “assessing the humanitarian assistance to be put in place by Canada to assist the Afghan people.”
The committee will be made up of 12 members: six Liberals, four Conservatives, one Bloc MP and one New Democrat.
They will meet for the first time on Dec. 17 to elect a chair and begin organizing their agenda.
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