Senator Mercer: Honourable senators, I grew up in Halifax in the shadow of the Royal Canadian Navy. The Royal Canadian Navy has a very proud history of protecting Canada, which continues to this day.

The Prime Minister recently announced additional support for NATO through Operation REASSURANCE — more troops, more artillery and the addition of HMCS Halifax to its operations. Is the government, in consultation with NATO and its allies, considering any further ramp-up of military personnel by land, sea or air to Ukraine in the wake of Putin’s recent threats? I have neighbours who are members of the Royal Canadian Navy, and I want to make sure that they’re safe.

Hon. Terry M. Mercer: Honourable senators, I know we are all dismayed by the situation in Ukraine. Russia’s actions by its brutal dictator are unacceptable, and we must continue to support the people of Ukraine in every way we can.

Senator Gold, Operation UNIFIER is the Canadian Armed Forces mission to support the training of security forces in Ukraine. We send a group of about 200 forces members to Ukraine every six months with the ability to deploy up to 400 members. According to National Defence, since 2015 Canadian troops have conducted more than 600 courses, training nearly 33,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel. On January 26, the minister announced additional funding of $340 million for immediate support for Ukraine and for the extension and expansion of Operation UNIFIER. However, the troops were pulled out and are now in Poland, given the current security situation in Ukraine.

Will the government leader tell us when our forces will be redeployed to Ukraine to train additional, much-needed Ukrainian forces to fight against Russia’s illegal war?