(OTTAWA) The Liberal government is giving itself more time to fulfill a key peacekeeping promise made to the United Nations (UN) five years ago.
Posted at 2:21 p.m.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to provide a rapid-reaction force of 200 troops to the UN at a major peacekeeping summit in Vancouver in 2017.
The government then declared that the unit, intended to respond to emergencies during peacekeeping missions, would be deployed no later than five years from now.
Yet the Department of National Defense announced that the cabinet recently extended the deadline by a year.
The government has not explained why the promised force has not yet materialized, despite the UN saying there is a continued need for such units.