Mr. Speaker, Canada has stood firmly with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in the face of unwarranted Russian aggression as they fight to defend their sovereignty, freedom and independence.
Since February 2022, National Defence has committed or delivered over $1 billion in military aid to Ukraine, including battle tanks, heavy artillery, body armour, gas masks, helmets, drone cameras, funding for high-resolution satellite imagery, anti-armour weapons systems, rocket launchers, small arms and ammunition, as well as other highly specialized pieces of military equipment. This amount includes the complete allocation of $500 million in military support for Ukraine announced in budget 2022. More information about Canada’s military support to Ukraine can be found at the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/campaigns/canadian-military-support-to-ukraine.html.
On January 18, 2023, the Minister of National Defence announced that Canada will donate 200 Senator armoured personnel carriers, or APCs, to Ukraine. The vehicles are being purchased from Roshel, a Canadian company based in Mississauga, Ontario. This package of military assistance responds to a Ukrainian request for these specific vehicles and builds upon Canada’s donation of eight Roshel commercial pattern armoured vehicles in April 2022. Additional information on the contract for the additional 200 Roshel Senator vehicles can be found below.
With regard to part (a), the contract was sole-sourced, with the Canadian Commercial Corporation, or CCC, acting as the contracting authority.
With regard to parts (b) and (c), the Roshel Senator vehicles were specifically requested by the Government of Ukraine. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, or AFU, currently possess Roshel Senator vehicles in their fleet and have experience using these vehicles in theatre.