Earlier this month, my colleague Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, and I accompanied Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Riga, Latvia to visit Canadian troops and reaffirm our commitment to regional security in Eastern Europe.
Canada’s support to Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression is unwavering. Last year, our government announced the extension of our training mission in Ukraine until 2019, and we have just announced our continued support as a framework nation and leader of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence mission in Latvia. We will be increasing the number of deployed troops in Latvia from 455 to 540 personnel in contribution to NATO’s deterrence and defence posture. These efforts will contribute to regional security while deepening the strong relationship we cherish with our Ukrainian and Latvian allies.
Our continued engagement in Ukraine is enabling Ukrainian forces to defend their sovereignty and contribute to regional and international stability. Approximately 200 Canadian Armed Forces members continue to train Ukrainian forces in a range of capabilities such as small-team training, explosive ordnance disposal, military policing, medical training, and modernizing logistics. We are also providing Ukraine high-level advisory assistance relating to important defence reforms that Ukraine is undertaking. Our continued engagement in Ukraine is enabling Ukrainian forces to defend their country’s sovereignty and contribute to regional and international stability.
Our commitment does not end with military training. As part of Canada’s comprehensive assistance to Ukraine, Canada has contributed over $16 million in non-lethal military equipment to Ukraine’s Armed Forces, with up to $7.25 million more to be delivered by end of March 2019.
We couldn’t be doing any of this without the historic investment our government is making in the Canadian Armed Forces through our defence policy, Strong, Secure, Engaged. After years of chronic underfunding under previous governments, we committed to investing $32.7 billion into defence—an increase of over 70 percent over the next 10 years.
We are working hard with our partners to foster and build a safe, prosperous and democratic Ukraine. We know that contributing to security in Eastern Europe contributes to greater peace and security in the world.
Harjit S. Sajjan is Canada’s minister of defense.
