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The Liberals and the New Democrats were staking out their positions Thursday ahead of a coming vote in Parliament on the question of whether Canada should enter a combat mission against extremists in northern Iraq.

The House of Commons is expected to wrestle with the issue next week, once Prime Minister Stephen Harpers Conservative government lays out what shape it wants the mission to take.

Though parliamentary approval isnt necessary in order to send soldiers into combat or to participate in airstrikes, Harper has already indicated the matter will be subject to both a debate and a vote in the House.

The timing of both remains unclear, although government House leader Peter Van Loan told the Commons on Thursday that routine proceedings would be disrupted next week as a result of the Iraq debate.

The details of a motion that would be the subject of that debate are expected as early as Friday.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair said the government has been murky at best in disclosing the truth about Canadas contribution of special forces advisers, a mission with a 30-day window set to close Saturday. As a result, he said, its hard to trust what Harper says about the next steps.

It would interesting to hear some straight answers from the Conservatives, Mulcair said. A lot of what theyve been telling Canadians has been duplicitous on things that are easily verifiable.

It wasnt until earlier this week the government specified that of the 69 special-forces members committed to the operation, only 26 are currently there.

It is believed that what Harper will propose next will be a contribution of fighter aircraft to join the U.S.-led bombing campaign against the militant al-Qaida splinter group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Mulcair didnt entirely rule out the NDP backing such a plan.

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Liberals, NDP plan debate strategy on Iraq mission