A confidence motion to keep Canadian soldiers in Kandahar until 2011 has passed easily in the House of Commons last Thursday.
But not all members of parliament (MPs) voted in favour of the motion.
Independent MP Blair Wilson, who represents West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country voted against the motion."Actions speak louder than words and I committed myself to the concerns citizens have in my riding," said Wilson in a news release. "I was honoured to represent the vast majority of the people in my riding who want to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan. From Roberts Creek to Lions Bay and Lund to Whistler, the people of West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country have not only been heard, but they have been listened to and represented with solid commitment."
The Conservative motion passed by a vote of 198 to 77. It was the secondconfidence vote the government survived last Thursday,and carried the possibility of triggering an election if it hadn't passed. Defence Minister Peter MacKay saluted the vote, saying it will bolster the men and women serving in Afghanistan.
"It shows confidence in everything they're doing, as well as aid working shoulder to shoulder with our Forces," MacKay told reporters outside the House following the motion's passing.
Revised following consultations with the Liberal party, the motion calls for the mission to be renewed past 2009, but with a focus on reconstruction and training of Afghan troops.
It alsoincludes a firm pullout date,calling forCanadian troops to leave Afghanistan by December 2011.
The Liberals voted in favour of the motion following a series of confidence votes in which the party has abstained or sent only a handful of MPs to vote.
Both the Bloc Québécois and the NDP voted against it, having consistently rejected any extension of the mission.
