Canada’s Official Opposition Conservatives say it is time for the country to join a missile defense system with the United States — and to do otherwise would be irresponsible.

In a news release sent to The Daily Caller, Conservative defense critic James Bezan noted that the U.S. is anxious to explore joint missile defense with Canada, as evidenced in a U.S. Department of Defense document released on Thursday, the “2019 Missile Defense Review,” which also said missile threats are increasing in the world today.

Bezan said Canada could enter into an agreement with the U.S. through its existing membership in NORAD — the joint aerospace defense treaty that has protected North America since 1957 from a joint command structure in Colorado Springs. (RELATED: China Is Determined To ‘Blind’ US Missile Defense Systems)

“Unfortunately, [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau has failed to prioritize the national security of Canada with his cuts to defense spending, the mismanagement of key procurement projects, and by ignoring major foreign threats in his defense policy review,” Bezan said, adding that “Trudeau’s empty rhetoric that ‘Canada is back’ is contrasted by our deteriorating place on the global stage. Trudeau’s mishandling of important relationships with the United States, India, China, and others has consequences for Canada in a time of escalating global threats.”

In conversation with The Daily Caller Saturday, Bezan said he cannot understand why Trudeau and Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan refuse to even talk about missile defense.

“The lack of action by Prime Minister Trudeau and Defense Minister Sajjan is deafening. The Liberals are failing to protect Canada from missile attacks and are being irresponsible partners in continental security by expecting the U.S. to protect our sovereignty without putting any skin in the game.” (RELATED: Trudeau Budget Under Fire For Massive Defense Cuts)

Bezan said a Conservative government would immediately seek to negotiate with the U.S. on how joint missile defense could be included within the existing NORAD security framework.

The Manitoba Member of Parliament also spoke about Canada’s United Nations peacekeeping mission to Mali. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently said the situation in the war-ravaged nation had grown “worse” since the Canadian peacekeepers arrived last summer. Trudeau visited the troops in December and stated that the mission will not be extended past its current mandate.

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