Ship, extra CAF members near Lebanon: defence minister [Video]

Defence Minister Bill Blair says there is a ship in place near Lebanon, as well as 150 deployed additional Canadian Armed Forces members prepared for a military-assisted departure of stranded Canadians, if more violence in the region requires it.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) is also working on “another commercial option with a charter aircraft” in the next couple days, Blair said.

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“It’s a scalable response that we are putting in place,” Blair said in an interview with CTV’s Question Period host Vassy Kapelos, airing Sunday. “We know that some people may just need some assistance to get to a place of egress, an airport or a port, and we are prepared to provide military-assisted departure.”

Further escalation in the conflict between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah is raising fears of an expanded war in …