Trudeau Questioned About Canada’s Preparedness in Case of Russian Retaliation

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during Question Period in Ottawa on Feb. 16, 2022. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Conservative Party MP and public safety critic Raquel Dancho sought answers Wednesday from the prime minister on Canada’s state of readiness if Russia decides to retaliate.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said when announcing the military operation in Ukraine on Feb. 24 that “whoever would try to stop us and further create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia’s response will be immediate and lead you to such consequences that you have never faced in your history.”

“So I ask the prime minister, is Canada prepared if Putin follows through on his threat?” Dancho asked during question period on March 2.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau did not answer directly, saying that Putin has underestimated the resolve of the Ukrainian people and that of countries who have responded.

“I asked about Canada’s emergency preparedness,” pressed Dancho, mentioning that Putin placed his nuclear forces on high alert.

“Canadians have every right to know what our emergency preparedness plan is should Russia launch, for example, a major cyberattack or move in on our Arctic territory, or, God forbid, launch a military response on Canada.”

Trudeau said Canada is prepared for “any and all eventualities,” citing its foundational NATO membership and participation in North American continental defence.

“But the best way is not to hunker down and wait for it. The best way is to be leaning forward as we are with all of our NATO allies, reinforcing the eastern flank of NATO, being present with troops and investments that demonstrate that the world stands together, that NATO stands together and will not tolerate this kind of Russian aggression,” Trudeau said.

While Russia said it placed its nuclear forces on high alert on Feb. 28, NATO said on March 1 that it sees no need to change its own nuclear alert levels, reported The Associated Press.

As Trudeau alluded to, the United States has sent 5,000 additional troops to Poland and Romania to bolster NATO’s eastern flank. France is also sending 500 troops to Romania.

Canada’s training mission in Ukraine, Op UNIFIER, has been temporarily relocated to Poland before the Russian invasion, and the Department of National Defence has not said it would be employed there in a defensive role.

Canada leads a NATO battlegroup in the Baltic state of Latvia, with approximately 800 Canadian Armed Forces personnel deployed there under Op REASSURANCE. The government announced on Feb. 22 it was authorizing the deployment of an additional 460 troops.

As Canada and NATO increase their involvement in the conflict, without themselves directly taking part in the war, questions remain as to if and how Russia will react to unprecedented sanctions crippling its economy and the shipping of military hardware to Ukraine.

The Epoch Times contacted Global Affairs Canada (GAC) at the beginning of the invasion to ask if it has concerns about Russian retaliations and, outside cyberattacks, what those could entail. GAC did not responded directly and answered with a generic statement about measures taken by Canada against Russia.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged on March 1 that there would be economic “collateral damage” for Canada resulting from the conflict, but she said Canadians should accept that the cost is lower than the consequence of Putin taking over Ukraine.

“If Russia were permitted to succeed in this, we would be in a very different world from the world we have all known. And it would be a world very dangerous to Canada,” said Freeland.