Canadian lawmakers approved plans to send fighter jets to Iraq on Tuesday to take part in American led air strikes against Islamic State militants for up to six months, according to The Associated Press.
Harper is part of the Conservative Party and introduced the motion last week, and after being debated, members of Parliament voted 157-134 in favor of the mission, although the mission didn't need parliamentary approval, the government submitted it to a vote just to show consensus, the AP reported.
The two main opposition parties had opposed the mission on the grounds that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had not given enough details and could drag the country into a long drawn-out war, according to the AP.
Harper said Canada will not be deploy ground troops against Islamic State, but unless the Islamic State is stopped it could mount attacks around the world, including in Canada, the AP reported.
"If left unchecked this terrorist organization will grow and grow quickly. They have already voiced their local and international terrorist intentions and identified Canada as a potential target," Harper said, according to the AP.
The United States has been bombing Islamic State and other groups in Syria for more than two weeks with the help of Arab allies, and hitting targets in Iraq since August, according to the AP. European countries have joined the campaign in Iraq but not in Syria.
The Canadian mission includes up to six CF-18 fighter jets, a refueling tanker aircraft, two surveillance planes and one airlift aircraft, with about 600 air persons involved, the AP reported.
"Canadians and Americans have fought alongside each other in several major conflicts over the past century, and we are grateful for Canada's further contribution against terrorism," a White House statement said, according to the AP.
