Politics This Morning: Tanks to Ukraine

Good Friday morning, Liberal MPs are back for day two of their back-to-Parliament caucus retreat today. Or maybe it’s day one: that depends on whether “sub-caucus” meetings count in your books. Sub-caucusing is how the Liberals will start their day today, gathering in regional caucuses from 9 a.m. until noon in the Wellington Building across the street from Parliament Hill. After lunch, they’ll head over to the Hill for the national retreat, and Prime Minister JUSTIN TRUDEAU’s formal opening remarks, which the media has been invited to cover. The Liberal and Conservative national caucus summits will take place in West Block today and tomorrow. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The Grits will carry on with their meeting until just before dinnertime. They’ll be back tomorrow for another full day of meetings (don’t you love it when the boss makes you work on a weekend?) The Conservatives are also gathering in West Block today. Leader PIERRE POILIEVRE will address the group at 9:30 a.m., and his remarks will also be open to the press. Canadian tanks promised to Ukraine Defence Minister ANITA ANAND announced yesterday that Canada will send four of its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine to help its defenders to push back the Russian invasion. Unlike the armoured vehicles that Anand promised to Ukraine earlier this month, these tanks are designed for head-to-head confrontations with the kind of armour the Russian army is using in Ukraine. Canada has 83 of these tanks in its possession, but not all of them are battle-ready or battle-worthy. Canada’s top general, WAYNE EYRE, joined Anand at the press conference. He delivered perhaps the most memorable line of the presser when asked about Russia’s warning that NATO’s delivery of tanks to Ukraine would escalate the conflict. “Russia will use any excuse to launch further attacks. They will grab onto any shred of credibility they can find, but I don’t put much credence in that. If they want to de-escalate, they can leave Ukraine.” Chief of Defence Staff Wayne Eyre was on hand to help Defence Minister Anita Anand field questions after she announced that Canada would be sending four battle tanks to Ukraine. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade You know by now how PTM feels about recycled talking points, but those three sentences could probably apply to any number of future developments in this conflict and the surrounding diplomacy. So we’ll keep them in mind. Neither Canada’s Leopards nor Eyre’s tough talk will have VLADIMIR PUTIN shaking in his boots, however. One can’t be sure which figures are reliable, but Russia probably has hundreds, if not thousands of tanks available for its war in Ukraine. None of them are quite up to the standard of the Leopard 2s, and many fall far short of them. But the numbers do matter. PTM asked military analyst, Hill Times’ columnist, and Esprit de Corps publisher SCOTT TAYLOR for his two cents on the decision. Here’s what he had to say: "Over the past few weeks there has been a steady drumbeat in Western media portraying the Leopard 2 tanks as some sort of 'game-changer' for the war in Ukraine,” he wrote. “Forgotten in that analysis is the fact that the Leopard 2A4 variant, of which Canada will send four to Ukraine, first entered service in the mid 1980's. Therefore this is not a new 'super-weapon,' but rather it is simply a much better tank than the Russian T-72 and T-80 machines, which were designed and built in that same era. “The Canadian Army does a good job of maintaining the small number of Leopard 2's that we have in the inventory. However they are also well used, and will require refurbishment before they can be considered battlefield ready. “Some could opine that four tanks from Canada is merely a token gesture, but they would be incorrect. It is a four token gesture." Councillors vote to reopen Wellington Street The City of Ottawa's Transport Committee voted yesterday to reopen Wellington Street to vehicle traffic in March, the CBC and others reported. The full city council must still approve of the motion. That vote has been set for Feb. 8. What’s the cabinet up to? Most of them will be attending the caucus retreat. There aren’t many public events for ministers today that have been advertised to the press. Trudeau is one exception. He is scheduled to meet with the visiting king of Jordan, ABDULLAH II, at 8:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., he'll give a speech at a Holocaust memorial ceremony. He will address the Liberal caucus at 2 p.m. Trade Minister MARY NG is another. She will take part in a virtual "launch event" for something called the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity, alongside U.S. Secretary of State ANTONY BLINKEN and U.S. Trade Representative KATHERINE TAI at 1 p.m. Ottawa time. In Parliament Likewise. There are no House committees scheduled to meet today. As you probably know, the House of Commons will return to action on Monday, and the Senate will reconvene on Tuesday. In the news Add JUDY SGRO to the list of Liberal MPs who aren’t as pleased as the PM with DOUG FORD’s health care reforms in Ontario. She spoke with ABBAS RANA for his latest story. Judy Sgro has held a Toronto-area riding for the Liberal Party for more than 22 years. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade The Liberal caucus has more on its mind than just health care, however. Read the latest from KEVIN PHILIPUPILLAI to find out what else makes the cut. Industry Minister FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE has a tough choice to make about whether to authorize Rogers Communications’ bid to swallow competitor Shaw. JENNA COCULLO reports. In case you missed it Privacy Commissioner PHILIPPE DUFRESNE took retailer Home Depot to task yesterday with a report on its practice of sending personal information from its shoppers’ e-receipts to the company that runs Facebook. You can read the report here. Also yesterday, the PM announced the appointment of AMIRA ELGHAWABY as the government’s first special representative on combatting Islamophobia. Elghawaby spent 14 years as a reporter and producer for the CBC before switching in 2014 to communications work for a collection of organizations. Send your news tips to pmazereeuw@hilltimes.com The Hill Times