Canada focused on deterrence as special forces sent to Ukraine: Joly
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Canada is focused on deterrence through the presence of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) on the ground in Ukraine, as allies send weaponry in response to Russia’s military build-up at the border.
During a press conference alongside Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Tuesday, Joly said Canada remains committed to enhancing the capabilities of Ukraine’s national guard and armed forces to help stave off a potential invasion of Russian troops.
“The goal is to make sure that we can contribute to their increased capacities, capabilities, in light of the Russian threat and also a further invasion from Russia,” said Joly.
“Russia is the aggressor and we need to make sure we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ukraine.”
CTV News confirmed late Monday night that a small group of Canadian special forces has been deployed to Ukraine.
As part of Operation UNIFIER, Canada sends a group of about 200 CAF members to Ukraine every six months. The operation’s focus is to assist with force training in coordination with the U.S. and other countries that provide that level of support.
Joly did not provide details about the duties of the specific group of special forces, only to say that military support is “longstanding” and will “continue in the future.”
Joly travelled to Ukraine in light of the mounting tensions in the region and to underline Canada’s support for Ukrainian sovereignty.
Ukraine has asked for weaponry assistance from Western allies, along with concrete commitments to sanctions against Russia.
Britain announced it has begun supplying the country with anti-tank weapons for self-defence purposes.
"We have taken the decision to supply Ukraine with light anti-armour defensive weapon systems," British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the U.K. House of Commons, saying the first systems were already delivered on Monday and a small number of British personnel would provide training for a short period of time.
Asked whether Canada would consider the same, Joly said Canada hears “loud and clear” the demands from Ukraine and is “looking at options.”
She added that a decision would be made in a “timely manner.”
Joly reiterated the government’s commitment to “serious consequences,” including “coordinated sanctions” with allies should Russia proceed with an attack.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is also set to travel to Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kuleba this week to reinforce Washington’s commitment to Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the State Department announced Tuesday.
He will then meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday.
“The Secretary’s travel and consultations are part of the diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the tension caused by Russia’s military build-up and continued aggression against Ukraine,” the readout states.
Back in Canada, some opposition politicians are advocating against a “militarized” approach to cool tensions.
“I'm concerned about any further militarization and so the New Democrats have taken the position that we're not in favour of a militarized approach. We are deeply concerned about what's going on and we want to use all diplomatic channels and tools, economic sanctions…to make it clear that Russia's ongoing attempts of encroaching on Ukraine are completely wrong,” NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said on Tuesday.
The Conservative Party meanwhile has criticized the Liberals for being weak on Russia and have called on the government to extend and expand Operation UNIFIER and provide Ukraine with defensive weapons.
Aurel Braun, an international relations professor at the University of Toronto, said while a diplomatic solution would be ideal, writing-off the use of military force would give Russia a leg up.
“When people say that we are taking the military option off the table, which Mr. Putin has not taken off the table, we collectively in the West are negotiating with one arm tied behind our back,” he said.
Braun said Canada and its allies must convey to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine is not a “soft target.”
“There has to be a message that across the entire spectrum, the cost to Russia of invading the rest of Ukraine is far greater than any possible benefits that they wold receive,” he told CTV News Channel on Tuesday.
“We’ve seen in the past that Mr. Putin will back down. He is not someone who is going to risk an all out conflict with NATO that he would loose.”
With files from Reuters
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'
Local Spotlight
Twin Alberta Ballet dancers retire after 15 years with company
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
Here's how one of Sask.'s largest power plants was knocked out for 73 days, and what it took to fix it
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
Quebec police officer anonymously donates kidney, changes schoolteacher's life
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Canada's oldest hat store still going strong after 90 years
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Road closed in Oak Bay, B.C., so elephant seal can cross
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
B.C. breweries take home awards at World Beer Cup
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Kitchener family says their 10-year-old needs life-saving drug that cost $600,000
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.