Canadian frigate heading for Malta

The Canadian frigate Charlotte town leaves Halifax harbour tomorrow for Malta to join Libya operations, the Canadian government has announced.

"I'm proud that the Charlotte town will rapidly be joining Canadian and allied forces to participate in this effort in Libya," Prime Minister Stephen Harper told the House of Commons.

The frigate, he said, would contribute to international stability and security and may also contribute to humanitarian aid missions.

There will be a Sea King helicopter and an air detachment on the frigate.

"As we have seen in Haiti, this is a very versatile type of platform to have in the region," Defence Minister Peter MacKay said.

He would not confirm rumours the military has sent special forces soldiers into Libya, but said some Canadian armed forces members were currently embedded with British forces and operations centres in the region.

The defence minister also said an estimated 100-200 Canadians are still trying to get out of Libya as the situation worsens, the Sun Times reported.

"Our focus is on getting people out. Similarly, our focus is on aiding other countries in terms of some of the humanitarian relief that is happening simultaneously," he said.

Canada has been boosting its military presence in Malta over the past few days, where the government has set up a temporary base of operations.

A 13-member military team arrived yesterday to assist in the efforts to evacuate Canadians and allied foreign nationals from Libya.

Two C-17 and two Hercules military aircraft were already on standby in Malta, while another C-17 has returned to Germany.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon also con-firmed Monday that Ottawa was in ongoing discussions with international partners on the question of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters Tuesday the government was continuing to keep a close eye on Libyan cash in the country.

"I won't get into the numbers, but we're doing our due diligence on this," he told reporters.