Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay urged the parties in the Darfur conflict to sign onto the peace agreement.

"Although imperfect, it provides a political framework and ongoing process to follow," he said Monday night in the House of Commons during a debate on Darfur.

However, he balked at the notion of committing Canadian troops to provide peacekeeping in the troubled region of Sudan that has seen 180,000 people die and another two million displaced since early 2003.

Liberal Leader Bill Graham said stability is the underpinning of peace, and that could only come from troops with proper rules of engagement.

He asked if Canada had the troops available to take part in a UN peacekeeping mission if asked.

"Simply put, the ask has not been made, nor do I believe we should speculate at this point troops being deployed from this country," MacKay said, adding no final decision has been taken.

"The government of Canada will commit all efforts to pursue the diplomatic means we have been pursuing to date," he said.

Dr. Norman Epstein -- a spokesman for Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan -- told CTV Newsnet that "What Canada needs to do is provide international leadership."

He noted this country once signed a document that talked of the "responsibility to protect."

Canada needs to bring developed countries on side to provide the resources that will provide security on the ground and lead to the disarming of both sides, Epstein said.

"Otherwise we will stand idly by again, and stand witness to another genocide," he said.

The negotiations

There was no progress Monday on a peace deal in Sudan's Darfur region, the day after the African Union extended the deadline for reaching an agreement by 48 hours.

The two sides have until midnight Tuesday to reach a deal to end the three-year-old conflict that has left 180,000 people dead and displaced two million people.

But observers say rebel inflexibility is the main stumbling block.

Ahmed Hussein, a spokesman for one of the two rebel factions, said Monday that they were not ready to sign until the government accepts their demands for autonomy and a vice president.

He said he was speaking on behalf of his Justice and Equality Movement and the other main rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement.

MacKay has sent a letter to rebel leaders urging them to sign the deal. UN Ambassador Allan Rock arrived at the African Union-sponsored peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria on Saturday.

The United States is sending one of its top diplomats to the talks.

Part of the problem, a source told The Canadian Press, is that the rebels have little experience with high-level diplomatic talks, so they don't trust the process.

Rock and the rest of the Canadian delegation have been trying to sell the deal to the rebels, the source said.

Canada has loaned 105 armoured personnel carriers to the African Union mission in Darfur, along with 67 Canadian forces personnel to offer logistical help. Another $1.4 million in basic military equipment like helmets and vests were also sent.

Two RCMP officers went to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum last month to help train local police.

The draft agreement

The rebels called Sunday for changes to the deal hours before the African Union's deadline -- and after Sudan's government said it would accept the deal as is.

Sudanese government spokesman Abdroman Zuma repeated Monday morning that the government was ready to sign the agreement.

Wednesday's first draft of the agreement proposed the government create the role of a Darfur adviser, which the rebel groups would nominate.

It also proposed strengthening Darfur's education system by suspending school fees for five years, creating a national anti-poverty plan and asking international donors to contribute to a rehabilitation fund.

Mediators have also suggested Darfur's population vote in 2010 on whether to combine the area's three states into one geographical region. Darfur is roughly the size of Manitoba.

Rebels say Sudan's primarily Arab-dominated government has neglected Darfur, allowing it to fall into poverty and violence. The conflict started in 2003, when groups within the ethnically-diverse Darfur launched an armed resistance.

The government allegedly responded by sending the Janjaweed -- an Arab tribal militia -- to rape and murder Darfur civilians. However, Sudan denies the accusation.

As the ensuing violence escalated, a humanitarian crisis developed as thousands of Darfur refugees began seeking shelter in neighbouring Chad.

With files from The Canadian Press