(Ottawa) National Defense Minister Bill Blair’s office says sending a Canadian ship to Cuba, where it docked alongside part of the Russian fleet, was a “carefully” made decision planned to increase its presence in the region.
Spokesman Daniel Minden issued a statement saying the visit to Havana port “was carefully and thoroughly planned,” and that the minister authorized it on the advice of the Royal Canadian Navy and Joint Operations Command from Canada.
“We have made the small choice to increase our naval presence in the region,” the statement read. We believe it was important to show a Canadian presence. »
Conservatives criticized the decision on social media after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly told CBC in a recent interview that she was unaware that one of the Canadian patrol boats was docked in Havana at the same time as Russian ships.
The Conservative critic for foreign national defense matters, James Bezan, believes that this measure requires an investigation by the Standing Committee on Defense. He would like Ministers Joly and Blair to appear on this subject.
The office of Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre did not respond to an interview request.
As for the cabinet of Mme Joly, he forwarded our request for comment to Mr Blair’s.
The visit to Havana is the first by the Canadian navy since 2016 and comes at a time when Canada has sent billions of dollars in aid and military equipment to Ukraine to help it fight the Russian invasion.
Mr. Minden says Canada made “the wise choice” to increase its naval presence in the region, adding that one of its warships, the HMCS Quebec Cityand a patrol plane monitored the Russian flotilla.
In a message published this week on the social network
The visit of HMCS Margaret Brooke is expected to last from June 14 to 17.