By Michael Nickerson
Junk. If you asked Lester B. Pearson some 70 years ago whether Canada’s diplomatic influence would come down to what junk it has on hand, he’d scoff! Even the mere suggestion that a rich nation like Canada, fresh from playing a pivotal role in defeating the Nazis, would be offering up scraps to our allies, scrounging through our proverbial basement for some military hand-me-downs in times of conflict, would be heresy. We’re part of the G7, a founding member of NATO for goodness sake! We should be pulling our weight and leading the diplomatic charge; blue berets here we come!
Alas no, just junk. As the conflict in the Ukraine drags on in its third year, our latest contribution to NATO’s call to keep the Russian Bear from landing on Europe’s doorstep amounts to a ragtag collection of military surplus that makes up in numbers what it might lack in cutting-edge effectiveness. To wit: 80,840 1970’s era CRV7 rocket motors sans warheads; 970 surplus C6 machine guns; 10,500 WWII-era 9mm pistols (oldies but goodies!); 29 decommissioned M113 armored personnel carrier chassis and 64 Coyote LAVs to serve as spare parts. There is nothing like trying to get some diplomatic mileage out a little fall housecleaning, eh?
And if things keep going the way they are, the Ukrainians might get themselves even more equipment that we plan on mothballing because we can’t afford the maintenance. Before you know it, the Black Sea will be littered with old Canadian minesweepers and the odd bobbing submarine to use as target practice, and the skies dotted with ex-Snowbird tutor jets the Ukrainians will no doubt repurpose in some clever way we could only dream of.
Seems like a win-win, no? Well, not exactly. Sure, we’ve cleaned out our cupboards, taken the trash to the curb, and got things all neat and tidy for all those new toys we’re apparently going to get at some point in the distant future. But as long as our contribution is limited to junk, we really have no significant voice or sway in how this war plays out. And oh my but is it playing out in some very frightening ways.
Sick of taking it on the chin for over two years, the Ukrainians took the fight to Russia in August, actually invading their territory in the Kursk region in what Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Andrew Leslie described as “a bold, brilliant, gutsy move.”And by all indications they plan on staying there.
So what you say? Seems like a clever piece of strategy that. Unfortunately they’re doing it in part with our crap and have committed us to a situation that is both very dangerous and very difficult to extricate ourselves from. As history buffs will attest, Russia has a rather long and bloody history involving people invading them, and they get a tad twitchy at the idea of it happening again. In fact, the growing presence of NATO on their doorstep has been one of the reasons floated by Russia for their invasion of Ukraine. And whether intended or not, our little bit of housecleaning has put Canada in the middle of an actual proxy war with Russia.
Specifically, Canada and NATO are now attached to an incursion into Russian territory, by a country that when this conflict is hopefully over will most likely join NATO. Now call me crazy, but if I were Putin, or the average Russian, that state of affairs wouldn’t be very palatable, and it makes it incredibly hard to see how the situation can be brought to any reasonable diplomatic conclusion thanks to that “bold, brilliant, gutsy move” on the part of our new ally.
Unfortunately, however it plays out, Canada is merely on for a very dangerous ride at this point. Long gone are the days of the “honest broker” or a NATO member with any military heft to back up its point, much less defend our interests (even our own soil) if this all goes pear shaped. That’s junkyard diplomacy for you…may the fates be kind.
