Ukraine’s president says getting air defence systems onto the battlefield is the top priority in the new year, but the system Canada promised a year ago still hasn’t been delivered and it is not clear when it will be.
Ottawa announced plans to donate a $406-million surface-to-air missile defence system, known by the acronym NASAMS, on Jan. 10, 2023. Nearly a year later, one of the two companies involved in building the NASAMS system says it does not have a contract for the Canadian donation.
The plan is for Canada to pay the United States government the total cost, and the U.S. to enter into a foreign military sales agreement with Ukraine directly.
Such an arrangement allows Canada to avoid applying to the U.S. government for further approval to send the system on to Ukraine, which is needed anytime American military technology is sold outside the country.
Ukraine says the medium-range missile systems are critical to defending its territory from Russian bombardment. They’re capable of taking down aircraft, drones and cruise missiles.
While Canada paid for the NASAMS system last March, it remains unclear exactly when it will get to Ukraine. It’s not even clear if the Defence Department itself knows when that will happen. A spokesperson said the department was working with its U.S. partners to determine the timeline.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ramping up the pressure to make it happen quickly as he speaks with world leaders early in the year.
In a Jan. 4 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said, “Our entire diplomatic team, everyone in charge of communicating with partners, and all Ukrainian representatives around the world are fully committed to ensuring the delivery of additional air defence systems and ammunition.”
That followed a post he made after a conversation with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on New Year’s.
“I am grateful to Prime Minister Trudeau for his willingness to assist us in protecting the Ukrainian sky, particularly by providing additional NASAMS systems and missiles,” Zelenskyy wrote.
It is not clear whether Zelenskyy was referring to the system Canada agreed to pay for last year, or if the two spoke about a new donation. The Prime Minister’s Office refused to answer questions.
The Defence Department did not confirm whether Canada intends to provide more NASAMS systems.
“We remain in close contact with Ukrainian officials about Ukraine’s most pressing defence needs, and Canada will continue to step up and address those needs by providing comprehensive military aid,” Defence Department spokesperson Andree-Anne Poulin wrote in an emailed response to questions.
Poulin said the U.S. government has signed a contract with arms maker Raytheon for the NASAMS system.
The system is made jointly by U.S.-based Raytheon and the Norwegian-based Kongsberg. A spokesperson for Kongsberg said in an email last week that the company does not have a contract with the U.S. for the Canadian donation.
“The acquisition authority is still processing the procurement of the Canadian donation,” wrote Ivar Simensen. He did not respond to questions about how long the production would take once it was authorized.
The U.S. Defense Department did sign a US$1.2 billion contract with Raytheon for NASAMS systems intended for Ukraine in November 2022 and a public notice of that contract states the expected completion date is November 2025.
A Pentagon spokesperson did not answer questions about whether the system falls under that contract or when it will be delivered, instead referring questions to Canadian officials.
Canada’s Defence Department either does not know or will not say when it expects delivery of the system. Raytheon did not respond to questions.
The U.S. State Department approved the possible foreign military sale to the Ukrainian government in late May, when it notified Congress of the procurement, which it estimated would cost US$285 million.
There have been no public updates about the progress of the donation since then from either government.
The procurement process, though, can take months or years.
U.S. Congress reviews foreign military sales and its committees can place a hold on the sale during that review period.
While Congress has the power to block an arms sale through legislation, it has never successfully done so. The Congressional Research Service noted that it has at times affected the timing and composition of some sales and may have dissuaded the president from formally proposing others.
The Biden administration can bypass Congress altogether by making emergency weapons sales, as it has done twice in the last two months to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons and ammunition to Israel.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a similar emergency declaration to provide ammunition to Ukraine in April 2022, but has not done so since.
The Norwegian government announced last month that it planned to donate another eight NASAMS systems to Ukraine from its own stocks.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 9, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
