U.S. 'unable to step up' on Ukraine aid, leaving Canada to fill the gap, says Freeland

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada's commitment to Ukraine has been an important con‐ tribution to NATO's strength at a time when the United States has been "unable to step up" on aid to the embattled country.

Freeland was responding to a question about Canada's efforts to meet NATO's mili‐ tary spending target for member nations - two per cent of GDP - in an interview airing Saturday on CBC's The House.

Asked whether Canada would increase spending in the forthcoming April 16 fed‐ eral budget, Freeland de‐ clined to give an answer ei‐ ther way. She told host Catherine Cullen that Canada's per capita commit‐ ments to Ukraine - which she called "NATO's most pressing challenge" - had been very significant.

"In March, Canada sent $2 billion in urgent budget fi‐ nancing support to Ukraine at a time when the U.S. - and this is maybe something you could ask the U.S. ambas‐ sador about - at a time when the U.S. has been unable to step up and provide support for Ukraine. We were there to fill the gap," Freeland said, af‐ ter being told U.S. Ambas‐ sador David Cohen would al‐ so appear on the program.

"Canadians can stand up tall and proud, knowing that our country is absolutely doing our part to resist Rus‐ sia [and] support Ukraine, which is NATO's biggest fight," she said.

Canada has faced increas‐ ing pressure - from both do‐ mestic voices and some al‐ lied countries - to meet the two per cent target set by NATO countries at the al‐ liance's Wales meeting in 2014.

"We won't get kicked out of NATO, but when you make a point at the North Atlantic

Council table, your voice car‐ ries less weight because you need to put your money where your mouth is," Kerry Buck, Canada's former am‐ bassador to NATO, told CBC News earlier this week.

U.S. bill still in limbo

Freeland said "shenanigans in Congress" have left the U.S. unable to provide muchneeded support to Ukraine as it fights to defend itself from Russian forces.

"That is a problem. Canada's support for Ukraine is not Ukraine's problem," she said.

The U.S. has struggled to pass legislation that would authorize billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine and other al‐ lies. Republicans have de‐ manded concessions on bor‐ der measures in exchange for the foreign aid.

WATCH | Ukraine's on‐ going war against Russia

Cohen defended the U.S. contribution to Ukraine when asked about Freeland's com‐ ments.

"'I've no desire to debate Chrystia Freeland when she isn't even here," he said in a separate interview airing Sat‐ urday on The House.

"The United States has de‐ voted to Ukraine US$77 bil‐ lion, including $44 billion in military assistance ... I'll stand on that record every day and be very proud of it."

Discussing Canada's mili‐ tary spending more broadly, Cohen acknowledged Canada's actions on modern‐ izing NORAD and supporting Ukraine, and its commitment to renew its fighter fleet. He said the 2 per cent target is still important as a spending floor but the U.S. considers other factors as well.

"I've been very careful to talk about my advocacy in terms of the need for Canada to invest properly in defence, in defence preparedness, to be able to continue to in‐ crease spending. And I've been equally clear that I don't think it's fair to assess Canada's performance or commitment to defence by reference to any single metric," he said.

"Democracy can be a little ugly at times, and it can be a little cumbersome. In the end, democracy works, and I have no doubt that the United States Congress will step up and that there will be an ongoing flow of continued significant support to Ukraine from the United States."

In previous statements, Cohen has balanced praise for Canada's other military commitments with some pressure on the NATO target. He has said "the world is watching" what Canada is doing and that he "remains hopeful" the target will be met.

"I don't think Canada has any interest in being that kind of an outlier in NATO," he told CBC News in Febru‐ ary.