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“We need to make sure that we’re doing it right, that we’re doing it in a thoughtful way and that it’s the right mission,” he said in St. John’s, N.L. “We will take the time necessary to do it properly.”

The Trudeau government announced with much fanfare last year that Canada would provide up to 600 soldiers to future UN peacekeeping missions, but it has yet to spell out any details.

Early signs pointed to Canada sending a large number of troops to Mali and trainers to various other African countries to help their militaries become better at peacekeeping.

But the Liberals have instead waffled for over a year on where to deploy, except to send two police officers to monitor the peace process in Colombia in February.

Photo by AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery

Multiple officials at the Defence Department have said the file is out of the military’s hands and now rests with Global Affairs Canada and the Prime Minister’s Office.

The government’s foot-dragging has long frustrated UN officials and allies, but there was always an expectation that a decision would at least be made by the Vancouver meeting.

Foreign diplomats in Ottawa and UN officials in New York were scrambling on Wednesday to find out whether that was now off the table, even as they lamented the government’s mixed messaging.

“Canada is making one promise after the other,” said one diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “But there’s nothing on the ground. So Canada is not delivering.

Canada’s foot-dragging has hampered mission planning and left critical gaps in terms of personnel and equipment on the ground, the diplomats added, especially in Mali.

And they warned that some countries could end up sending lower-level officials to Vancouver if Canada isn’t prepared to make an announcement at the peacekeeping meeting.

Royal Military College professor Walter Dorn, who has done extensive work on peacekeeping, worried that Canada was setting a bad example as the UN tries to rally support for peacekeeping.

“It shows poor performance in delivering on commitments,” Dorn said. “And performance is one of the principles this conference is supposed to uphold.”