Canadians enlisting in foreign militaries to fight in wars outside of our own efforts is not a new concept.
The people going over to fight are part of a long tradition of Canadians who stand for human rights throughout the world. They are acting in a legal capacity, and deserve our support.
The risks are high for these men and women both home and abroad, so how they conduct themselves during this conflict is as important as their reasons for joining.
Canadians have been doing this since the American civil war when thousands of Canadians fought for both the Union and Confederate armies, motivated by their beliefs on slavery.
Another 1,300 Canadian volunteer soldiers fought in the Spanish civil war in the 1930s because they wanted to do their part to combat fascism, fighting with forces loyal to the republican government.
In an attempt to dissuade Canadians from continuing to join foreign conflicts they passed the Enlistment Act in April of 1937.
However this did not stop hundreds, and maybe thousands of Canadians from enlisting to fight in Vietnam among other more recent conflicts.
The enlistment act is full of antiquated language but to sum it up, Canadians cannot participate in a foreign army that is at war with a friendly foreign state.
This law includes fighting for a rebel group which assumes “to exercise the powers of government in or over any foreign country, colony, province or part of any province or people.” This law includes the Kurdish Peshmerga forces among whom Canadian veterans have now started to enlist.
So enlisting in the fight against ISIS is not illegal, as long as the Kurdish forces do not attack a Canadian allied state.
The first Canadian veteran to enlist overseas is former Corporal Dillon Hillier, who served five years with the Canadian Forces. He also served a six month tour in Kabul as part of Operation Attention, training Afghan security forces as part of the NATO mission.
The Canadian veterans who helped Hillier confirm his contacts and travel plans to the conflict area have now started a group on social media called the 1st North American Expeditionary Force.
This is a not-for-profit group to help provide financial and logistical support to those who want to follow Hillier and go overseas. According to the National Post there are about a half dozen more planning to join in the coming months.
However they have to operate delicately as the Foreign Enlistment Act makes it illegal to recruit Canadian citizens for a foreign military.
These Canadians seem to have pure intentions like others throughout our history. They see an injustice or have such strong convictions they feel compelled to put themselves in the line of fire.
Though Hillier and those that follow him may have the right intentions and be clear from the Foreign Enlistment Act, they could run into problems with Canadian terrorism laws.
The Peshmerga may be fighting a detestable enemy, but their tactics and some of those in their ranks may be putting Canadians who join at legal risk.
They are a non-state army, so as long as they comply with international humanitarian law they will be safe from any terrorist accusations.
However, just because the Peshmerga are considered the good guys for fighting ISIS, it does mean that they themselves have been perfect in all of their actions, which should concern anyone who is planning to join them as this may leave them legally and morally on the hook.
Even if the Kurdish forces are acting in accordance with humanitarian laws, and that’s a big if, there is a risk they could be working with a terrorist group.
The Turkey Kurdistan Workers’ party is a known affiliate of the Peshmerga and are listed as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government.
Fighting alongside or for this group poses a serious legal risk to Canadians enlisting in the Kurdish forces fighting in both Iraq and Syria because supporting a known terrorist organization directly or indirectly is illegal according to Canadian Anti-Terrorism Act.
As long as the Canadian citizens who choose to face ISIS toe-to-toe can define their actions within the moral and legal manner required, they should be supported as part of long patriotic tradition.
