National Defence Committee on March 9th, 2022

[Heidi Kutz]

That is a matter that will have to be monitored as the sanctions continue to have impacts, and we would certainly hope that the Putin administration would roll back its efforts in order to roll back the current situation.

[Iqwinder Gaheer, Liberal, Mississauga—Malton, ON]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Mr. Gaheer.

Ms. Normandin, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

This morning, the Prime Minister stated that he believes that Ukraine can win, but perhaps not everyone shares his optimism.

Personally, I feel there are two other possible outcomes. The first scenario is a peace treaty, but Russia could be prosecuted for war crimes. The second scenario is not much better, as it involves Ukraine being defeated. In this context, I imagine that Canada cannot return to its original position of being a soft power.

Major General, how will this affect our military readiness in the future, particularly with respect to the Arctic? Is it a game changer?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Thank you for your question, Ms. Normandin.

It's not a game changer. As I explained, we are currently assessing the different possible scenarios in terms of what is happening in Ukraine. We're also assessing when Canada can return to Ukraine to continue training Ukrainian forces.

We're also looking at what this means for NATO. We're assessing potential scenarios with respect to the conflict in Ukraine, that is, what this means for NATO in the short, medium and long term.

This doesn't change what we were already doing. In terms of operational readiness, the Canadian Armed Forces will continue to recruit people and modernize the forces to be ready for future conflicts.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Along the same lines, we often hear that Canada is at risk. Canada and its allies are part of NATO. As an individual country, what is Canada prepared to do? This raises more questions.

Shouldn't this send a message about what questions we should be asking and what the situation involves? Shouldn't Canada be more prepared as an individual country and not as an ally?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Once again, I thank you for your question, Ms. Normandin.

I believe the approach is going to remain the same. Canada has always been able to rely on its allies. In addition, it has contributed to the NATO alliance, along with 30 of its partners, but most importantly, it has contributed, along with its American allies, to defending North America. We have complementary capabilities, in both the European and North American alliances. We're committed to continuing this modernization and contributing as best we can to this alliance.

[Christine Normandin, Bloc, Saint-Jean, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Madame Normandin.

Ms. Mathyssen, you have two and a half minutes.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Thank you.

Both Finland and Sweden are now talking about joining NATO. I want to focus on that side of Arctic sovereignty, which Ms. Normandin was talking about in a previous round.

This would actually leave Russia as the only Arctic Council member within that seven-country or eight-country council that isn't a NATO member. What kind of impact does that have on the council, on the Arctic, on those activities, on the department's view point of going forward and on Arctic sovereignty?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Mr. Chair, if you allow, I will ask Heidi to take this one.

[Heidi Kutz]

The foundation of the Arctic Council is co-operation in the area of environmental and sustainable development. Military co-operation is deliberately excluded from the work of the Arctic Council. There would not be any military or security activity within that body.

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

With everything that's happening now, the majority of the countries have removed themselves from meeting. Russia is the chair currently. Doesn't the entirety of this issue have an impact on that council?

[Heidi Kutz]

Certainly and absolutely it does. You noted in your remarks that last week Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway and the United States together condemned Russia's unprovoked and unjustifiable actions in Ukraine. That was seven of the eight members of the Arctic Council. At the same time they upheld the importance of the council's work in the area of co-operation, but were very clear that, at the moment and given that Russia is currently the chair of the council, members would not be able to travel to Russia. In fact, activity within the council is temporarily paused until there is an opportunity to work together to determine the modalities under which the council could work in light of Russia being the chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, John McKay]

Thank you, Ms. Mathyssen.

Before I call on Ms. Gallant and Ms. O'Connell, I will ask the Conservative Party to indicate to me who their next questioners will be in the third round.

You have five minutes, Ms. Gallant.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

It will be me.

Russia appears to be engaged in a strategic pause on the ground in Ukraine. Can you give us your read of the next moves by Russia?

That's for Major-General Prévost.

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Mr. Chair, we can see that there's a pause by Mr. Putin. He is probably reassessing his campaign and his objectives. We would be speculating as to his next move. We're obviously looking at scenarios here, but what his next move will be we don't know at this time.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Are there any conditions under which NATO would consider a no-fly zone over part of Ukraine? Are there options?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Right now, Ms. Gallant, there are no options. It's off the table. I think everybody can understand. It's fairly well discussed. I think the Secretary General himself has discussed this. This would mean something else. There is no option of having a no-fly zone in any way.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

We've seen from Russia that its military is out of character with Russian operational [Technical difficulty—Editor]. Have you been able to draw any conclusions as to why Russia still does not have air superiority over Ukraine?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

We do have a sense of this. Unfortunately, some of it is classified. What I offered initially is the fact that they have a large force but not necessarily one that is modern, and their modern force is not large enough to do this. I think that's probably the best answer I can give you at this time.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Is Canada now sharing intelligence directly with Ukraine from Canadian Forces Intelligence Command, CSE or RADARSAT?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

On the issue of information sharing and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Mr. Chair, this is done through our allies, through our arrangements that we already have, so some of that Canadian information/intelligence is getting to Ukraine.

In terms of the imagery, we're also providing, through our allies, imagery. It has been announced that we're providing $1 million in imagery at this time, which will provide Ukraine very high-quality imagery for the next three months, and we'll continue to reassess that need as the crisis develops.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Has there been any consideration in NATO of sending more TB2 Turkish drones to Ukraine?

[MGen Paul Prévost]

Mr. Chair, I'm not in a position to know this. That would be a question that should be directed to NATO or, actually, the manufacturer or the country for which they are built.