Prime Minister Stephen Harper has weighed-in on the Syria chemical weapons accusations.

Harper has  said for the first time that Canada believes the Assad regime has used chemical weapons against Syrian rebels.   But he gave no indication that Ottawa would follow the White House’s lead and authorize supplies of military equipment for the anti-Assad forces.

Canada, the U.S. and European allies of the Syrian opposition have been under heavy  pressure to give  military support to the rebels as their strategic position has deteriorated in recent weeks.

Meanwhile –  Ban Ki- Moon is firmly against  the U-S decision to send arms to the Syrian rebels.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations says there can be no certainty of chemical weapons use in Syria without an investigation  on-the-ground.