OTTAWA—Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada won’t be rushed into a peacekeeping deployment despite concerns from the United Nations that the Liberals’ promised commitment “hasn’t materialized.”

But Trudeau still holds out the possibility that his government’s vow to reengage in peacekeeping could become a reality with a deployment this year, hinting that troops could be headed to Africa, as the Star has previously reported.

“We have a difficult history in Africa as peacekeepers and we need to make sure that when we embark on any mission, military mission, we make the right decisions about what we’re going to do, how we’re going to do it, and the kind of impact we’re going to have on the ground and on Canadians,” Trudeau said Saturday on Parliament Hill, where he was attending a caucus meeting.

“And that’s a decision we’re not going too fast track. We’re making it responsibly and thoughtfully.”

While the decision on the peace mission has been delayed — as the Liberals feel out the priorities of the Trump administration in Washington — Trudeau wouldn’t rule out the possibility of a deployment for 2017.

“I wouldn’t draw that conclusion. We continue to look very carefully at ways to move forward on a strong commitment we made on peacekeeping,” the prime minister said.

“We know that Canada has to play a strong and effective (role) on the world stage in ways that suit our capacities and we’re looking to make sure that that happens right.”

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the government is working to make a decision on the deployment “as quickly as possible.”

“But as you know, conflict is extremely complex. And every mission that we have made a decision on, we’ve taken the time to making sure that we get it right so that we can have the maximum contribution on the ground,” said Sajjan, who was also attending the meeting.

He said the potential mission has been the topic of conversations with officials at the United Nations, NATO and in Washington.

Sajjan said this is “not the peacekeeping of the past.”

“We need to understand the conflict itself, making sure there’s a robust mandate for those missions,” he said.

Sajjan, who declined to say whether the mission may be headed to Africa, also said Canada will be seeking to have a broad impact in its peace support deployment.

“This is a new way of doing, trying to do peacekeeping, and each area is different. We just don’t want to have a check in a box, or just have an impact in one nation. We want to make sure that we have a regional impact,” Sajjan said.

Hervé Ladsous, the outgoing head of the United Nations’ peacekeeping operations, said he was “very eager” when the Liberals signalled their intent to reengage with UN operations.

But Ladsous pointedly noted the silence in the months since then, with no decision and no deployment.

“I think it was the phrase of Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada is recovering its United Nations DNA with a particular reference to peacekeeping,” Ladsous said.

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“That was very exciting. Well, so far, it hasn’t materialized. I hope it will,” he told reporters in New York Friday during his final briefing in the post.

The Liberal government announced last August it would commit up to 600 soldiers, 150 police officers and $450 million in development funding over three years for a peace support operation.

Cabinet ministers conducted fact-finding trips to African nations while military officials and diplomats in Ottawa mapped out the possibilities behind the scenes.

A decision that had been expected before Christmas was pushed back and now officials offer no timeline for a possible announcement.

The Star has reported that Mali is one of the likely destinations for the mission. Troops attached to an ongoing UN peace mission in the West African nation have found themselves in the crosshairs of local insurgents.

Ladsous cited the Mali mission, which he visited last week, as he discussed the challenges facing United Nations peace operations today.

“Is there be a peace to defend? Is there a peace to keep? Because we face now new actors, we face new threats, all these asymmetric attacks,” he said during his briefing.

He said UN soldiers in Mali are “constantly” under attack from mines, rockets and improvised explosive devices.

“You know the toll, which is terrible. We had altogether 124 peacekeepers killed in the line of duty in Mali, which is the costliest operation these days,” Ladsous said.

“But we have to adjust to that. We have to be better prepared, better equipped, better trained and have as much awareness of the situation as we can,” he said.

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