Roundup: A pathway for Ukraine but no obvious timeline

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From the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, we saw some movement on the question of Ukraine’s membership, but with no timeline attached. And while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy railed that this was “absurd,” that’s pretty much entirely for show because everyone knows that it’s baked into the rules that you can’t join so long as you’ve got an active war taking place in your territory, because as a mutual defence pact, it would draw in the other members, and we don’t want this to turn in to World War III. The other conditions are all largely being waived, because Ukraine is largely becoming interoperable with NATO countries thanks to the training they’ve been receiving from countries like Canada and the UK, and because they’re getting and being trained on more western equipment as it displaces old Soviet equipment; there is also the issue of combatting corruption in their government and ranks, which are also conditions for entry into the European Union, so again, there’s a lot of progress on fast-tracking Ukraine’s membership, but there can’t be a timeline because there’s no timeline as to when the war will be over.

Meanwhile, member countries pledged to boost their spending to at least two percent of GDP (which, we’ve explained previously, is a really dumb metric), and yes, we’ll re-litigate Canada not spending enough yet again, even though we don’t have the capacity to spend more. We can’t spend the current budget allocation, and even if the budget allocated the requisite two percent, a lot of that would lapse and roll over into the next year because we don’t have the capacity to spend it. And this is also the part where I remind you that when Stephen Harper committed to the two percent target, he then cut defence spending and it fell below one percent of GDP, so whatever bellyaching James Bezan and Michael Chong get up to over this, they need to have a good hard look in the mirror about their own record.

https://twitter.com/StephanieCarvin/status/1678933048346263552

As well, the cluster munitions issue came up again. While the US, Ukraine and Russia are not signatories to the international convention banning them, the excuse is that they are running out of other munitions, so the Americans are going to send these instead, which seems…problematic in reasoning considering the reason why they’re largely banned. There doesn’t seem to be any particular move to sanction the US or Ukraine for using them, but or an appetite to prosecute any war crimes for their use, but it’s still not a great sign.

Meanwhile, here is some good analysis from Queen’s University’s Stéfanie von Hlatky that is worth your time to watch.

Ukraine Dispatch:

There was a second night of drone attacks on Kyiv in a row as the NATO summit is underway. As the counter-offensive continues, helmet cam footage is being selectively released, but can’t really provide proper context for what we’re seeing from it. The F-16 pilot training coalition is now firmed up, and training is due to begin in August. Meanwhile, survival skills training is taking off in Ukraine, as the war drags on.

Good reads:

  • The federal government announced $82 million in new funding for NGOs that deal with crisis situations and emergency responders, as climate impacts intensify.
  • The Canadian Transportation Agency announced consultations on changes to on airline compensation rules, and everyone is (rightfully) suspicious or dubious.
  • The Canadian Ombudsman for Responsible Enterprise is investigating a mining company and Nike Canada for possibly using forced Uyghur labour from China.
  • US dock workers won’t unload cargo destined for BC ports routed to them as a result of the strike.
  • Attempts to reinstate ousted AFN national chief RoseAnne Archibald fizzled out at the Assembly’s annual general meeting in Halifax.
  • Elizabeth May says she is back home after being hospitalised for exhaustion.
  • Premiers want more federal help recruiting foreign healthcare workers, even though licensing them is their jurisdiction and it’s the bigger problem.
  • Doug Ford claims he didn’t see or approve of the list of King’s Council nominees.
  • The Alberta environment minister’s mandate letter has only a vague reference to climate and no references to conservation. Look surprised, everyone!
  • Justin Ling walks through the tale of Justin Trudeau’s anti-vaxxer half-brother driving an RFK Jr.-branded RV around Ottawa.
  • My column looks at how Stephen Harper cosying up to Viktor Orbán creates a permission structure for conservatives to adopt his illiberalism and extremism.

Odds and ends:

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