QUESTION PERIOD — National Defence
Operation UNIFIER
June 10, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate. Senator Gold, Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian initiative that includes the deployment of troops in Ukraine with the intent “. . . to help Ukraine remain sovereign, secure, and stable.”
While its work is directed toward security forces training, it is nonetheless vulnerable to attack from hostile forces, and recent actions from Russia have not given the world comfort that hostile interventions into Ukraine’s territory will not occur.
Unfortunately, our forces there have recently been coping with the COVID-19 outbreak, and Ukraine itself is struggling with the pandemic.
Senator Gold, how is the health and safety of our Armed Forces personnel in Ukraine being protected during this time, and what is our government planning to ensure that their health and safety will be protected in the event that hostilities break out?
Thank you for your question. As the grandson of an immigrant from the Ukraine to Canada, I’m pleased to answer two questions in a row on the Ukraine.
The government’s support for Ukraine is unwavering, as is our commitment to protect the health and safety of our troops wherever they may find themselves. And that’s why, in support of Ukraine, the government renewed Operation UNIFIER, our training mission to assist the security forces of Ukraine, until March 2022, launched in response to a request from the government of Ukraine.
Now, as colleagues may know, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reduced number of personnel being deployed for a period of time, but additional members are being deployed, bringing the total number of Canadian Armed Forces personnel to Ukraine to 149.
With regard to health and safety, the government has enormous pride and confidence in our military personnel abroad to take the measures to protect our troops and is also taking steps to protect them from a health and safety point of view when they’re stationed abroad.
Thank you for that, Senator Gold.
Canada has supplied Ukraine with non-lethal military equipment, including a mobile field hospital, medical kits, night vision goggles and so on. Are there plans to continue to provide this and similar equipment for the near future, or are there plans to change what equipment is being supplied?
Thank you for the question. I’m not aware of any change in the plans with regard to our support to the security forces in the Ukraine. I’ll make some inquiries and will be pleased to report back to the chamber.
