Article content continued

A Department of National Defence official said no plans currently exist to distribute the weapons in Iraq. It is unclear why the equipment would not be then be redistributed to Canadian military units; however, a DND source said the weapons will stay in storage until the federal government decides what to do with them, and there are no indications when such a decision will be made. Much of the gear could be used by the Canadian Forces if it is decided the equipment can’t be sent overseas.

Photo by ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

In February 2016 Trudeau announced Canada would provide weapons to the Kurds to support the fight against terrorists from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. But the plan quickly went off the rails.

The Iraqi government opposed arming the Kurds, who had openly acknowledged their intent was to secede one day from Iraq. They cited the example of Quebec’s attempts to leave Canada, and Kurdish leaders said the Canadian equipment was needed both to fight ISIL and to defend a future independent Kurdish state.

Some defence analysts warned the Canadian government and military from the beginning that providing the Kurds with weapons was a mistake. When asked in 2016 about concerns that Canadian training and equipment could aid the Kurds in their quest for independence, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jon Vance replied it was important to have political unity during the fight against ISIL. “Where, after, Iraq decides to go in terms of its political laydown is up to Iraq,” he said.