44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 28, 2022 11:00AM
- Feb/28/22 2:32:31 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada, like Ukraine, shares a border with Russia, our Arctic.
We can no longer afford to take our sovereignty and security for granted. Russia considers the Arctic to be its most important theatre, its most important region, and has spent considerable resources over the last decade building up capabilities there.
Will the government now act urgently to protect Canadian sovereignty and security by purchasing the F-35 jets, by fixing our naval shipbuilding program, and by immediately modernizing NORAD's early warning system?
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- Feb/28/22 2:33:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my hon. colleague for raising the issue of Arctic sovereignty, which our government takes extremely seriously.
We are making landmark investments in this area, conducting joint exercises in the Arctic, purchasing six Arctic offshore patrol ships and enhancing surveillance. We will remain firm and unwavering in the protection of our Arctic, including in modernizing NORAD.
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- Feb/28/22 2:33:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government is not participating in joint military exercises between the United States and Scandinavian countries that have been taking place over the last year in the Arctic.
Russia supplies 40% of Europe's natural gas and uses this to threaten European democracies by threatening to cut off gas. Canada is the fifth-largest natural gas producer in the world.
Will the government now commit to fixing our broken pipeline approval process so that we can get new pipelines built to Atlantic tidewater and come to the assistance of European democracies by replacing Russian gas with Canadian natural gas?
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- Feb/28/22 2:37:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada will continue to work with its American partners to modernize NORAD so we can face current and future challenges related to Arctic protection and sovereignty. That is why budget 2021 includes $252.2 million as an initial investment.
We will continue to work with our American partners to ensure our Arctic sovereignty.
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- Feb/28/22 8:31:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I note the report I referenced in my remarks, and I invite the hon. member to consult the report that our committee did in 2019: “Nation-Building at Home, Vigilance Beyond: Preparing for the Coming Decades in the Arctic”.
Climate change is part of preparing for the Arctic. In fact, at the request of the Conservatives, that foreign affairs report was the first report that a parliamentary committee prepared in the indigenous languages of the partners we met with on the ground. That was a Conservative request, because the resilience and vigilance we need to build in our Arctic are about not only the rangers for security, but also the impact of climate change, particularly on traditional ways of life.
The challenge I have with the government is that it will sometimes substitute these notions and ignore the hard-and-fast statecraft mechanisms we should have. The government completely ignored the need for us to be full partners in NORAD. That includes ballistic missile defence, and it means asserting our sovereignty in the Arctic and supplying ships to the Canadian Armed Forces. We have to look at the world the way it is, and that is what I hope tonight's debate can do. Let us make sure that Canada helps our friends in Ukraine, but let us also make sure we are prepared at home.
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- Feb/28/22 9:48:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I count it a privilege to be able to serve on the Standing Committee on National Defence with the hon. member, and it has been a good relationship.
I agree with one of her core points: The Russian militarization of the Arctic is moving at a furious pace and is of considerable concern. It should be a considerable concern to every Canadian.
I want to bring the member back to a question that interested me in our hearings this afternoon. Canada has spent millions of dollars in the training of Ukrainian soldiers, and it appears this may be actually paying off. The resistance being put up by the people and the soldiers to the Russian invasion is really quite impressive, and it may have something to do with the training that has been provided over the last few years.
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- Feb/28/22 9:52:10 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I had the opportunity, on the European Union friendship committee we have in Parliament, to spend a few years on the Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. My colleague mentioned the Arctic sovereignty we have as a neighbour of Russia in our north, and I wonder if she could elaborate a bit more in regard to the issues around the Arctic and our independence and making sure we stand our ground in that area.
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- Feb/28/22 9:52:45 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, on both sides of the aisle, everybody is talking about a need for NORAD modernization. I do not think that is news. What needs to be done is like the expression “use it or lose it”. As far as China and Russia are concerned, they have been very clear that they want to be the powers in the Arctic, whereas Canada believes we should be standing up for our Arctic, and that means all of Canadian sovereignty. We simply have to do more.
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- Feb/28/22 11:11:27 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I just want to congratulate my colleague on his excellent speech this evening. I asked other members of the House tonight about the issue of Canadian sovereignty in our Arctic. I know that my colleague, coming from Winnipeg, has his heart and soul in that, with the research that we have at the University of Manitoba.
I wonder if he would elaborate on the fact that we are a neighbour to Russia and what we could do to defend ourselves in that area.
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- Feb/28/22 11:12:01 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what we all recognize here today is that we have woken up to the tyranny of Putin's Russia, and that affects the entire world. Canada is not immune to that.
We share a border with Russia. Mr. Putin, just the other day, spoke about raising his nuclear arsenal's alert. We have to wake up to the reality of Putin's Russia and do whatever we can to protect ourselves, protect all Canadians, including protecting the sovereignty of our Arctic.
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