Question Period Note: OPERATION REASSURANCE

• Canada remains strongly committed to NATO, and to reinforcing our support for NATO’s Eastern Flank.
• Canada continues to lead NATO forces as the framework nation for Latvia.
• We are working with our Allies to generate and stage forces in order to surge to a multi-national combat capable brigade in Latvia.
• We have also made important naval contributions to NATO’s Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 1, and supported air policing missions over Romania.
• We have approximately 1,200 Canadian Armed Forces personnel serving on Operation REASSURANCE, our largest international operation.
• We will continue to work with our NATO Allies to enhance collective security and to promote peace and stability around the world.

• Following Russia’s invasion of Crimea, NATO Allies agreed at the 2016 Summit in Warsaw to establish an enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the eastern part of the Alliance, in order to strengthen deterrence measures. These Battle Groups form part of the biggest reinforcement of NATO’s collective defence in a generation.

• Operation REASSURANCE is Canada’s contribution to NATO’s deterrence and defence efforts and it is Canada’s largest international military commitment, involving the deployment of land, sea, and air elements to Central and Eastern Europe in support of our Allies, and the reinforcement of NATO’s Eastern Flank.

• This forward presence was first deployed in 2017, with the creation of four multinational battalion-size battle groups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, led by the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and the United States respectively.

• In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Allies reinforced the existing battle groups and agreed to establish four more multinational battle groups in Bulgaria (Italy), Hungary, Romania (France) and Slovakia (Czech Republic) to bolster the Eastern flank.

• At the Madrid Summit in June 2022, NATO Leaders agreed to a new baseline for NATO’s Deterrence and Defence posture which included deploying additional robust in-place combat-ready forces on NATO’s Eastern Flank, to be scaled up from the existing battle groups to brigade-size units, where and when required, underpinned by credible rapidly available reinforcements, prepositioned equipment, and enhanced command and control.
• June 29, 2022: The Minister of National Defence signed a joint declaration with the Latvian Prime Minister and the Minister for Defence, to augment NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence Latvia. Going forward, Canada will:
o Continue to lead NATO forces as the Framework Nation of Latvia;

o Work with Latvia and NATO Allies to generate and stage forces in order to surge to a combat capable brigade;

o Establish and lead elements of a forward brigade command and control;

o Be prepared to provide critical capabilities to operations, such as ammunition and explosives, air defence systems, and anti-tank weapons systems.

• Enhanced Forward Presence Latvia: Canada’s contribution to the battle group is comprised of command and control, a mechanized infantry company, an artillery battery, a combat support company, and a combat service support company.

• Air Task Force Romania: From August to December 2022, the CAF deployed six CF-18s and approximately 170 personnel as part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing mission in Romania. Two additional aircraft were temporarily deployed for concurrent NATO training activities.

• Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group 1: Between June and November 2022, HMCS Kingston and HMCS Summerside were deployed in the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic region as part of Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group One.

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