A divided House of Commons is preparing to vote Tuesday to send Canadians back to war with the Conservatives insisting it is Canada's duty and opposition parties warning of a potential major mistake.
CBCnews.ca will carry the final hour of debate and the vote live, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.
The Conservatives used the waning hours of debate to focus on Canada's responsibility to act against the brutality of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a vicious offshoot of al-Qaeda currently in control of swaths of Iraq and Syria.
But the New Democrats and Liberals are concerned they don't have enough information about how far the Conservatives are willing to go.
Six CF-18 fighter-bombers, two CP-140 surveillance planes, one aerial tanker aircraft and 600 personnel have been tapped to join coalition air strikes in Iraq for up to six months, but there will be no troops directly involved in ground combat, says the motion before the Commons.
"We know that when we face this kind of a threat, a terrorist caliphate established in the open that threatens this country and threatens it quite explicitly and directly, that is not something we can just sit back and watch," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said during question period.
Video surfaced last month of presumed ISIS fighters making direct threats against Canadians and those videos were invoked several times by the Tories over the course of debate.
They also repeatedly mentioned ISIS atrocities, including the beheading of journalists and aid workers, sexual violence and the persecution of religious minorities.
While acknowledging the brutality, the opposition parties said there is no proof air strikes will work.
"Doesn't the prime minister realize that these current tactics, the same ones he wants to follow, will only create more recruits for (ISIS) and can in fact be disastrously counterproductive?" asked NDP Leader Tom Mulcair, citing reports that thousands of people have enlisted with ISIS since the airstrikes began.
The NDP have proposed an amendment to overhaul the motion entirely and switch the focus to supplying arms to local fighters battling ISIS and increasing humanitarian support.
The Liberals argued that Canada's military contribution has not been thoroughly considered.
"The fact of the matter in terms of our commitment financially and with equipment and human resources if you commit in one area, it is conceivable that there is less you can commit in the other areas," said Liberal MP Wayne Easter.
"And so strategically we do not know the whole picture and the prime minister has failed to outline that."
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There is no requirement for the House of Commons to approve combat missions, but the prime minister promised this mission would be put up for debate when he first floated the idea of a new military role in Iraq.
Canada initially stayed out of the international combat campaign against ISIS, which began with U.S. strikes in August.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, who led debate Monday on the government's decision to join U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS, defended the government's use of closure to force a vote on the motion. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
At the close of a NATO meeting in September, Canada announced a commitment of up to 69 special forces soldiers to advise Iraqi and Kurdish fighters for 30 days. That mission is to be extended with the passage of the motion.
Harper signalled at the time that more might be done and in September he disclosed during an interview in New York that Canada was weighing a combat role.
A motion laying out the plan was introduced in the Commons on Friday and Harper laid out the specifics.
In addition to calling for air strikes in Iraq, he left the door open to a campaign in Syria as well, if called for by the Syrian government.
The Americans are currently bombing ISIS positions in Syria as militants threaten towns on the Turkish border.
Debate on the motion began Monday and the Conservatives limited its length so the vote could take place Tuesday.
On Monday, the Conservatives also announced an increase in humanitarian aid, promising up to $10 million for victims of sexual violence.
The Foreign Affairs Department says that since the beginning of 2014, more than $28 million has been allocated to humanitarian needs in Iraq.
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