A Liberal motion to end Canadian combat operations in southern Afghanistan by February 2009 was defeated in the House of Commons on Tuesday.

NDP Leader Jack Layton votes against an Opposition motion to pull Canadian troops out of Afghanistan by February 2009, at the House of Commons in Ottawa on Tuesday.
(Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

The NDP joined the Conservatives in defeating the motion, which lost by a close vote of 150-134.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said the vote was nothing more than a green light for an extension to the mission. The NDP wants the troops out immediately.

"We think it's wrong. It's two years too long for a mission that is wrong for Canada and is not going to produce a military success," Layton told CBC News.

The motion, introduced by Liberal defence critic Denis Coderre on April 19, called on the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to serve notice immediately to NATO that Canada will withdraw its troops from Afghanistan in February 2009.

Coderre said Tuesday that the federal government needed to be clear about its timetable for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

"We just don't believe them when they say the deadline is February 2009. For the sake of clarity, we are saying that Canadians deserve better," he told CBC News.

He said the government may be planning to extend the mission because it is buying military equipment, including as many as 100 second-hand Leopard tanks, and some of the equipment may not be ready until after combat operations in Afghanistan are scheduled to end.

Coderre had said the motion would give MPs another chance to debate the merits of military deployment in Afghanistan, but it did not mean that the Liberals think the mission is a failure.

Coderre said the motion would simply confirm the end date of combat operations as provided by Harper himself.

He added that other NATO countries, particularly European members, should be taking a more active combat role in the war-torn country.

During question period on Tuesday, Liberal MPs demanded to know why the Conservatives wouldn't support their motion. Liberal Ujjal Dosanjh said the motion simply confirms the Canadian military's commitment to February 2009, but no further.

"Why is the government refusing to provide clarity to Canadians about an end date?" Dosanjh asked in the House of Commons.

Dosanjh also noted that if the Conservatives are serious about the February 2009 withdrawal, they must inform their NATO allies in Afghanistan, so the allies have time to prepare for the Canadian military's departure.

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor answered all Liberal questions with the same response.

"Our military commitment is, at the moment, to the end of February 2009," he said. "I don't know how many times I can say that, but I'll keep saying it as long as they ask."

NATO not looking for answer now: PM

Harper has declined to say whether he plans to ask for an extension of the mission. On Monday, he said NATO is not demanding an answer from Canada on the issue right now.

In May 2006, the House of Commons narrowly voted to extend the deployment in Afghanistan until February 2009, but the Conservatives have said they reserve the right to ask for an extension of that deadline.

Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has suggested troops could be needed until 2010.

Canada has more than 2,000 troops in Afghanistan, with the majority stationed in the volatile southern province of Kandahar. Fifty-four Canadian soldiers and one diplomat have been killed in the troubled country since Canada first sent troops there in early 2002.

The Canadian mission in Afghanistan is not limited to combat operations. Canada maintains an embassy in the capital of Kabul and has committed itself to providing millions in development aid in the hopes of rebuilding the country.