Canada joins NATO in a show of force as war rages in Ukraine

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This article was published 07/03/2022 (927 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BERLIN—In the face of extraordinary international moves — by the U.S. and Europe to slash Russian oil and gas imports and by Poland to send its Soviet-era fighter jet fleet to Ukraine’s defence — Canada’s decision to extend its NATO military mission in Eastern Europe was staged as a momentous one.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met the leaders of Latvia and Spain at a massive Latvian army base outside the capital of Riga to make it a show of force, a meeting that came together only in the past week.

International press jockeyed for positions and the leaders viewed a parade of all 10 country colours in the NATO mission and listened intently to a briefing from a top Latvian military commander. Then they tromped through a torn up sandy field to talk to a slew of multinational troops who paused in the midst of live combat exercises — Trudeau sinking in the shifting dirt in leather shoes, dark brown khakis, a light blazer and sweater.

They touted the strength and unity on display. By the time Trudeau announced the Canadian Forces would be in it for the long haul, the snow was flying and darkness fell.

At a news conference Stoltenberg belted out a warning to Russia that the NATO alliance has reinforced its ranks, saying the flexing of military power is meant “not to provoke a war, it is to prevent a war; is to preserve peace.”

“We are stepping up to send an even stronger message to President Putin that an attack on one ally will trigger the response from the whole alliance,” he said.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “wants less NATO, he’s getting more NATO. He wanted to divide us, he’s getting a more united alliance.”

Asked if he was prepared to take Canada to war if Latvia or any other state bordering on Russia was invaded, Trudeau said, “I know I can speak for all NATO members when I say we will all abide by Article Five,” referring to the alliance’s guarantee that an attack on one is an attack on all.

While experts say there’s wiggle room for countries to decide exactly how to respond in the event of such an attack, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is such an astonishing aggression, prompting dramatic condemnation by global leaders including Trudeau, that it would be impossible to back down.

In the face of all that, some Canadian defence experts like David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute say that extending NATO’s mission was the least the Trudeau government could do.

Perry said Russia is conducting “the most sophisticated and large-scale military operation that has been conducted by someone other than the United States since 1945.”

Russian forces invaded by land, air and sea, driving out two million refugees and creating a massive humanitarian crisis: an action by an unpredictable superpower that should force Trudeau to reckon with how he and other global leaders failed to plan for a future that is now.

“I don’t feel like that’s fully registering in Canada, how significant it is,” he said in an interview, even as he noted the government that three weeks ago declined to send lethal weapons last week announced lethal shipments nearly each day.

Perry said it’s “absolutely the right thing” for Trudeau to have gone over to Europe and engaged in diplomacy “face to face.” But he emphasized the need for “serious reflection for both the forthcoming budget…but also looking at the next several months or years.”

“The lag between fiscal commitment and when you can actually produce something meaningful — whether it’s people, equipment, or people trained to use it — takes, you know, three to five years,” he said.

Still, as Trudeau arrived hours later in Germany he had not revealed any details about his vague promise a day earlier to consider investing more in Canada’s military defence.

Asked if he’s willing to give the green light to more urgent procurements of weapons like air defence systems to protect Canadian and NATO troops on European soil, he demurred. Asked if he’d bolster Arctic defences, his defence minister, Anita Anand, said she and the Americans are talking.

And in Berlin, where Trudeau had originally hoped to highlight how aligned he is with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a progressive Social Democrat, on climate change and “inclusive” economic growth, now there is a sharp contrast.

Scholz responded to the war in Ukraine, now in its second week, with a stunning reversal of his country’s recent history of seven decades of pacifism. He committed to double the country’s defence spending to more than $100 billion and to reach NATO’s defence spending target of two per cent of economic output.

Canada’s military spending is at 1.39 per cent of GDP, with many of Trudeau’s promised investments spread out over the next decade, too late to deal with the here and now.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued another clarion call Tuesday for the West to do more and invoked Winston Churchill and Shakespeare in a speech to the United Kingdom’s parliament.

Canada faces calls from the official Opposition to do more.

Gen. Wayne Eyre, the chief of defence staff, declined to comment when asked by the Star what extra defence spending he anticipated. But he said with the war in Ukraine and fears of Russian expansionism, Canadian soldiers in Latvia have seen their work take on new urgency.

“They see renewed purpose and why they’re here,” he said in an interview. “It’s the front-line of freedom.”

Latvians are happy the Canadians are here, he added. “Everybody wants more Canada.”

Brig. Gen. Aaron Williams, a Canadian who is deputy commander of Latvia’s mechanized brigade under which Operation Reassurance operates, said in Latvia the threat posed by Russia on its eastern border feels very real to a population that has a keen sense of its own recent history.

“I think there’s a deeper appreciation of risk,” said Williams. “This part of the world understands it more intimately than perhaps we, as average Canadians do. I think it’s palpable.”

“People are training like they know it means something,” said Canadian Brig. Gen. Mark Campbell.

Speaking to Canadian reporters, rank-and-file Canadian soldiers expressed that same sentiment.

“My heart’s with Ukraine,” said Master Cpl. Shani Martin, part of the civilian-military liaison co-operation team with the NATO mission.

“It definitely increases my motivation and my passion for my role here, and I can see it around the base and everybody’s extremely switched on.”

Col. Sandris Gaugers, the Latvian commander who briefed Trudeau, told him working with a multinational mission has its own challenges but also lessons for interoperability that are now being applied across other NATO groups. “It’s been hard work for five years almost,” he said.

There are currently about 500 Canadian soldiers serving in Latvia as part of the mission, with about 400 more providing air and sea support in the broader region.

The Liberal government has announced it will send another 460 Canadians to what it calls Operation Reassurance, with 120 slated to go to Latvia, and the rest arriving as part of a frigate and maritime air patrol teams.

Trudeau earlier met with Latvian Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš in Riga at the prime minister’s office, and they were then joined virtually by Estonia Prime Minister Katja Kallas and Lithuania Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė.

“You are literally on the front lines of this challenge with Russia,” Trudeau said, underscoring Canada’s forces have “been here for a number of years and will continue to be together…because we believe in a shared future of peace and prosperity for people and pushing back against the Russian aggression that is absolutely unacceptable.”

Tonda MacCharles is an Ottawa-based reporter covering federal politics for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc