PM Trudeau and NATO Secretary General take brief 4 Wing tour; talk Russia, allied defence

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg completed a northern tour of military operations at CFB Cold Lake on Friday morning, in a brief, closed to the public tour of the air base.

Trudeau and Stoltenberg held a press conference outside the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess hall shortly after 9:30am, where the importance of 4 Wing’s operations to NATO was underlined, especially with the proximity in the northern corridor to Russia, and the ongoing aggression Russian forces are exerting on Ukraine.

With the news of the Prime Minister coming to the city arriving earlier this week, protestors gathered at the intersection of Highway 28, Centre Ave, and Main Street in front of the A&W with signs criticizing and chastising Trudeau. One protestor told Lakeland Connect they were outside hoping to embarrass Trudeau in front of the NATO Secretary General.

Also in attendance as part of the discussions were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mélanie Joly, Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Dan Vandal, Minister of National Defence, Anita Anand, and Chief of the Defence Staff, General Wayne Eyre.

Arriving on Thursday evening, Trudeau and his security stayed at a local hotel, before arriving on base early Friday morning. There was a welcoming ceremony featuring an honour guard at roughly 8:00am. After the press conference, they gathered for a lunch with CAF members.

There was little to no public discussion specific about the upgrades to 4 Wing’s hangar.

‘You’re gonna see the base really lift off’

In a followup after the press conference Lakeland Connect spoke to Mayor Craig Copeland during the usual Morning After segment.

He said he was not invited to 4 Wing for the proceedings, which is not unusual, but said the visit is significant considering the work that is being planned in the near future at CFB Cold Lake.

Copeland said he’s hopeful that contracts could be signed off by September in order to move forward as early as next summer.

“It’s great to have the Prime Minister out here because he gets to see the base, he gets to see the magnitude of it, and also any of the dignitaries from foreign countries can come here and see it’s an amazing asset,” said Copeland.

“They are going to plough a lot of money, over half a billion dollars in infrastructure is going to be spent out at the wing. There’s a few things can be improved like the rent, the PILT for the City of Cold Lake for sure, but for the men and women out there, there are few anomalies like salary and living out allowance and the difference between this base and other bases across Canada.

“I think you’re gonna see the air base really lift off here and the war in Ukraine has really shown us that you better not neglect your military because you need them,” he said.

Northern defence, Russia highlighted

Much was made from Trudeau and Stoltenberg about the importance of the arctic currently in military operations, not only for North America, but European allies as well.

On Thursday, the pair visited one of the sites of the North Warning System in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, which is part of a network of sensors that enable the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to safeguard North America.

Previously, NATO had requested that every member nation spend at least 2 per cent of GDP to fulfill their commitment, something Canada has fallen short of.

Trudeau was asked about what assurances he may have made to Stoltenberg about this issue.

“The past number of years Canada has significantly increased its defense investments to ensure both that we are giving the equipment and capabilities needed by members of the Canadian Armed Forces to continue to do their extraordinary jobs, but also so allies can continue to rely on Canada,” said Trudeau.

“We have continually stepped up in every NATO mission since its inception. We will continue to deepen and grow our investments, whether it’s the significant investments in modernizing our NORAD abilities, whether it’s a Defense Review ongoing this fall, we will continue to make greater and greater investments.”

He also used the opportunity to slam the previous government of Stephen Harper, a common thread through Trudeau’s time in leadership.

“I will highlight for those keeping close watch on a partisan basis, the only time recently, Canada’s defence spending decreased below 1 per cent even was under the previous Conservative government of Stephen Harper.”

The dignitaries left the air base early Friday afternoon.