Prime Minister Stephen Harper has broken his silence and responded to the Liberal party's suggested changes on Canada's plan for the Afghan mission.
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In a speech late Thursday morning during an appearance at the Conference of Defence Associations in Ottawa, Harper unveiled a new motion aimed at bridging the gap between the two political parties and possibly keeping his minority government alive.
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The motion adopts wording from a Liberal amendment and spells out that all Canadian troops will be out of the volatile Kandahar region by December 2011, which is just six months later than Stephane Dion's Liberals had called for.
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It also says the mission will focus on training and reconstruction, as the Liberals have demanded.
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Harper said the government's new motion bridges the gap between the Conservative and Liberal positions on the combat mission in Afghanistan.
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"It is a clear and principled position but it is not a Conservative position or a Liberal position," said Harper. "It is a Canadian position that can be supported by a majority of the elected representatives of Canadian people."
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Harper added that he expects consensus to be reached in the Parliament so the motion can be ratified.
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The original Conservative motion would have extended the Afghan mission until at least 2011, but only if NATO provides 1,000 extra troops to bolster Canadian efforts and Ottawa finds additional equipment.
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The motion was based on recommendations put forward by a panel led by former Liberal cabinet minister John Manley.
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A proposed Liberal amendment called for the mission to refocus on reconstruction and training, but allowed for combat to protect those efforts, followed by a full withdrawal of Canadian troops by July 2011.
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For the past week, Ottawa has been waiting to hear the government's full response to the Liberal amendment.
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Later Thursday, the Conservative government is expected to table its response in Parliament, with debate on the motion beginning as soon as Monday.
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The Manley panel report also specified that Canadian troops be supported by unmanned surveillance drones and large helicopters to ferry the soldiers around the region.
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CBC News has learned that the federal government is in negotiations to acquire such equipment in an effort to satisfy one condition on its own, taking the pressure off NATO allies in hopes they will focus on finding the additional troops.
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While it is common for defence ministers and senior commanders to speak to the Conference of Defence Associations, which is made up of ex-officers, analysts and defence industry executives, a prime minister hasn't appeared before them since the 1970s.